DISCOS: IT IS NO LONGER OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO PROVIDE METERS FOR CONSUMERS
Read Time:1 Minute, 47 Second
Ife Adewole
Power distribution companies in Nigeria has made it clear to Nigerians that it is no longer their duty to provide meters to electricity consumers in the country.
The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, ANED which is the umbrella body of the Distribution Companies, Discos, revealed that the revenue collection efficiency has increased from 61 per cent (N363bn) recorded in 2017 to 66 per cent (N437.9bn) in 2018.
The ANED made it known that the monetary shortfall in Nigeria’s power had risen to over N1.4tn regardless of the low progress in revenue collection by the electricity distributors on behalf of the industry. This was said to be inadequate to confront the over N1.4tn shortfall in the sector.
The Executive Director, ANED, Sunday Oduntan emphasized that it was no more the responsibility of Discos to provide meters for consumers.
He further added that the responsibility now lies with the Meter Asset Providers licensed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Oduntan said that with the licensing of the Meter Asset Providers, the Discos would now concentrate on addressing other challenges in the power supply business.
He said, “Metering has been taken off the Discos’ primary responsibility and that is why the Federal Government through NERC came up with MAPs. In summary, the Meter Asset Providers are essentially now in charge of metering, not the Discos.
“We are participants; we have a role to play and we are playing this role by cooperating with them. But we are not the ones to provide meters to Nigerians, going forward. People need to understand that and we support anything that will make it possible for Nigerians to have meters.”
This recent decision made by Discos refutes what the Federal Government announced in August 2018.
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, had announced in August 2018 that power distribution companies still had the responsibility of providing meters to customers.
The minister had stated that the Meter Asset Provider Regulation, which was unveiled by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission in March 2018, did not completely remove the responsibility of providing meters by the Discos.
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