The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has maintained that electricity consumers are not required to pay directly for meters issued to them under the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP).
The programme which is a policy intervention by the federal government in collaboration with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is designed to provide all electricity consumers with meters.
According to NAN, this disclosure is contained in a statement issued by NERC on Monday, November 15, 2021, in Abuja. The clarification by NERC follows the public outcry that has greeted the recent upward review of the unit price of end-user meters under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) and National Mass Metering Regulations.
What NERC is saying about meter procurement
The statement from NERC reads, “We wish to reiterate that the NMMP designed to provide all consumers of electricity with meters is a policy intervention of the Federal Government supported by the Central Bank (CBN) concessionary loans to Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCoS).
“This laudable initiative is still very much on course as a total of over 900, 000 units of meters have so far been installed under the takeoff scheme without any payment by benefiting consumers.
“While this doesn’t cover many of the unmetered customers, we are pleased to inform electricity consumers that the next phase under which about four million units of meters would be procured from local meter manufacturers has commenced.
“Pending the conclusion of the NMMP, procurement processes and the commencement of manufacturing and installation, consumers may elect to acquire a meter from the Meter Asset Programme (MAP).”
NERC pointed out that the regulatory framework approved by the commission under MAP/NMMP Regulation provide for refund of cost of meter through energy credits to the customer at the time of supply of electricity.
The commission said that the recently issued notice by the commission on the adjusted cost of meter was designed to protect consumers from arbitrary pricing by MAP.
In case you missed it
Recall that a few days ago, NERC announced an upward review of the unit price of end-user meters under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) and National Mass Metering Regulations from N44,896.17 to N58,661.69 for single phase meter and three-phase meter from N82,855.19 to N109,684.36.
The commission said that in arriving at the approved unit price, which is going to take effect from November 15, it had to consider changes in foreign exchange and inflation since the last review that was done in June 2020.
