Present metering gap is 57% deficit in Nigeria, says NERC Boss
The Chief Executive Officer, CEO, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Prof. James Momoh, has lamented over the low level of metering in the country, stressing that the present metering gap is 57% deficit in the industry.
Prof. Momoh disclosed this at the Town Hall Meeting hosted by the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, FCCPC, in collaboration with the MAC Arthur Foundation on facilitating dialogue and proffering solutions to difficult consumer issues in the electricity sector in Lagos.
He pointed out that the present metering gap in the industry is about 5,046,906 when compared to the total customer size of 8,840,801 representing 57% deficit in metering. His revelation is coming barely a month after NERC began mass metering on May 1 across the country.
He, however, assured Nigerians that the present metering gap would be closed within the next three years with the effective implementation of the Disco meter roll out plan under the Meter Asset Providers, MAP
scheme.
In his words: “The commencement of the Meter Asset Providers scheme, developed in line with the MAP Regulation 2018 will go a long way to assuage the long pressing issue of metering in line with the regulatory requirement.”
“The distribution companies have also done extensive work on their customer enumeration to determine the actual metering gap as well as perform adequate “Know Your Customer” to reduce electricity theft and improve service delivery to their esteem customers.”
The NERC boss further appealed to electricity consumers to be patience in dealing with the Discos on meter installation while assuring that the commission would not sit back and watch Nigerian electricity consumers continue to be exorbitantly charged or estimated for energy consumed or not consumed at all.
“Metering is the responsibility of the service provider. And as such, no consumer should be charged for meter,” Prof. Momoh stressed.
Also speaking, the Managing Director, Ikeja Electric Distribution Company, Anthony Youdeowei, noted that he was glad that the town hall meeting was organised to address pertinent issues in the industry.
Youdeowei added that the company recognised the position of the commission in protecting customer right stressing that Ikeja Electric Distribution Company was ready to collaborate with the commission on how to serve the customers better.
“We have witnessed several hostilities from the customers and we have witnessed cases where we had to resolve such issues at the police station. You can’t believe that most of the electricity consumers who are complaining about meter, when we go and install such meters; we also have challenges with them as customers,” he said.
MARKETING EDGE can confirm that most of the consumers who had issues with Ikeja Electric Distribution Company laid their complaints before the commission. Issues such as estimated or crazy billing, load shedding, inappropriate disconnection, consumer hostility to Ikeja Electric staff amongst others dominated the discussion at the town hall meeting.
Some of the resolutions reached at the meeting were that customers should pay their undisputed bill; they should not resort to violence and beat up staff of Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company while the Ikeja Electric Distribution Company on its part should be transparent in all its dealings with the customers.
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