The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has announced that more than seven million meters will be delivered between December and the second quarter of 2025, positioned to help enhance a better experience of Nigerians as regards power in the country.
The minister revealed that, the first phase of the meter delivery will arrive in Nigeria in December, while the second phase will be received in the second quarter of next year respectively.
This was disclosed today, Tuesday the 16th of October, 2024, at the ongoing Nigeria Energy Summit taking place in Lagos.
Minister Adelabu said this was part of the Federal Government’s efforts and plans to close the gap in the power sector saying that all hands must be on deck to make this a reality.
“We have over 13 million customers, but just a little over 5 million are. Where is it done that over seven million customers will rely on estimated billing? It is fraudulent, it is not transparent, and it can never be acceptable in a sane country. But we cannot close this gap in one year.
“We are talking of over seven million meters to be imported, to be produced locally. The meter gap is a big elephant we must all join hands to fight and bring down.
“To address this, we launched the presidential metering initiative together with the Nigeria Governors Forum, and state governments are now part of this, supported by the World Bank Distribution Sector Reform Programme aimed to disburse 3.2 million meters, out of which I can confirm to you authoritatively that 1.3 million meters have been procured, contract signed and the payment made.
‘’We are expecting the first set of the meters to be delivered by December 2024, and the balance will be delivered by the second quarter of next year ” Adelabu stated.
He further expressed confidence that the addition of 1.3 million meters would aid billing efficiency and reduce disputes between the power distribution companies and Nigerians.
Adelabu also added that the amount spent on diesel and petrol for independent power generation is going into the power sector, which will generate up to N5tn yearly revenue that can further provide infrastructure, replace dilapidating transformers, and fixing of broken lines.
He explained that the metering initiative by the government, would reduce estimated billing, enhance transparency, and improve sector liquidity by ensuring that energy consumers are billed accordingly.
He said : “And you will see the readiness of Nigerians to pay if you can display transparency and fairness in your billing. They are ready to pay. They know that the alternative sources are far more expensive, even apart from the societal environmental pollution of noise” .
The minister also pointed out that the integrated national electricity policy will be ready in the next four weeks when it will be submitted to the Federal Executive Council.
‘’As we look into the future, our focus remains on fully implementing the integrated national electricity policy. I will want you to get a copy of this policy. It’s available as a soft copy; we have sent it to all the major stakeholders in the industry. Please go through it’’.
“You can read through the executive summary for you to even know the content of this policy. It covers so many things, including local content, competency, and human capacity development in the industry, which is lacking. We don’t have enough pool of resources for what we are envisaging for this sector, but we must start building it from today. It covers everything, and when you add areas you want to put our attention to, please, let us do this within the next four weeks before we go to the Federal Executive Council’’ he said
