The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said the federal government has released a total of N20 billion to the power distribution companies (DisCos) for the procurement of meters for unmetered Band A customers in the next three months.
The Minister made this statement during an Energy Conference in Lagos on Friday.
He said this will help fill the metering gap for Band A customers in the customers.
Band A customers, as defined by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), are electricity consumers who receive a minimum of 20 hours of electricity per day and are charged a premium tariff of N208 per kilowatt-hour (kWh).
Adelabu said these customers will be able to get the meter in the next three months.
“Before I left the office yesterday, I met with the chairman of NERC, Alhaji Garba Sanusi, and we’ve agreed that we have an accrued N20 billion for metering.
“I said to him, let us release this N20 billion for the DisCos to procure meters for the unmetered Band A customers before the end of September. That is going to happen. I can assure you that,” Adelabu said.
DisCos to liberalize Meter Acquisitions
In addition, Adelabu mentioned that the government has instructed DisCos to enable customers to purchase their meters if desired, thus liberalizing meter acquisitions.
He explained that Initially, it was the responsibility of the DisCos to supply meters.
However, he noted that the process for acquiring meters has now been deregulated, granting customers the option to purchase their own meters.
“We have also decided that the DisCos should liberalize meter acquisition. So that individual customers can actually go ahead and buy their own meters if they want to.
Ordinarily, it is the business of the DisCos to provide meters. If you cannot wait for that, you’re now allowed to buy your meters so far it is complying with all the specifications of the DisCos,” Adelabu said.
What you should know
Nairemetrics earlier reported that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) increased the electricity tariff for customers under the Band A category from N66/kWh to N225.
Musliu Oseni, Vice Chairman of NERC, said that these customers account for 15% of the 12 million electricity consumers in the nation.
He further stated that due to the failure to meet the necessary electricity supply hours, the commission has moved some Band A customers to Band B.
Meanwhile, NERC subsequently confirmed the approval of 8.1% electricity tariff rate cut for customers under the Band A category for all power distribution companies in the country (DisCos).
The tariff cut from 225/kWh to 206.8/kWh, which represents approximately 8.1% reduction, is attributed to the relative appreciation of the Naira in the official foreign exchange window.
NERC said that the revision of the 2024 MYTO for Band A customers led to a reduction in tariffs for all discos.
