The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, announced that the federal government has procured 1.8 million meters to address the issue of estimated billing nationwide.
Adelabu disclosed this during a discussion with journalists on challenges in the electricity sector, stating that the government has implemented a presidential metering initiative to close the metering gap across the country.
He explained that the 1.8 million meters will be distributed in phases, with the first batch expected by December 2024, and the final batch to arrive by the second quarter of 2025.
Adelabu further noted that this effort is part of a partnership with the World Bank to supply 3.5 million meters over the next three years.
“The fund is already being raised to ensure that we procure a minimum of 3 million meters over the five years, at an annual average of 2 million meters per annum. Secondly, we have the support of our international development partner, the World Bank, to procure about 3.5 million meters within the next two to three years.
“Out of that, 1.8 million meters have already been procured. The contract has been signed and the payment has been made. We are expecting delivery of a part of this in the next two months, precisely December 2024.
“The balance will be delivered before the end of the second quarter of 2025. With this, we believe that the days of estimated billing are getting over gradually,” Adelabu said.
Improved Power Generation
In addition, Adelabu noted that there has been a significant improvement in the power generation capacity of the country by both the gas plants and the hydroelectric plants.
He said the power generation peaked at 5,527 megawatts (MW) in September, the highest ever recorded in the year.
According to Adelabu, achieving a 6,000MW feat is not only plausible but also feasible by the end of the year.
“We met a sector that was operating around 4,000MW of power. We made a commitment to achieve a 6,000MW of power by December 2024. To God be the glory today, we are generating, transmitting and distributing an average of 5,000MW of power with a peak generation for the year 2024 at 5,525MW on the 3rd of September, 2024.
This was generated by all the gas-power plant companies and hydroelectric plants. They were successfully evacuated, transmitted to the distribution company and distributed to the households and businesses in the country,” Adelabu said.
What you should know
Earlier in 2024, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) directed the 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to allocate a total of N275 billion for meter procurement between 2024 and 2027.
- The current Minister of Power, Bayo Adelabu, estimates that the number of unmetered customers ranges between 7 to 8 million nationwide.
- However, a PwC report suggests that this figure could be as high as 38.91 million.
- The report indicates that roughly 50% of Nigeria’s installed meters are either outdated or malfunctioning, affecting around 1.7 million customers, with 4.09 million unmetered and 33.1 million potential customers still unconnected.
- Additionally, the World Bank has launched a $500 million metering program, with $155 million earmarked for providing meters to consumers and $345 million allocated to help DisCos improve electricity supply.