Electricity: FG To Begin Second Phase Of Mass Metering Scheme

The Nigerian Government announced that it will soon commence the second phase of its National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP); a scheme to get more Nigerians connected to the grid and make electricity distribution more efficient.

This was disclosed in a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Infrastructure, Mr Ahmad Zakari, in Abuja on Friday.

The Presidency revealed that NMMP would ensure that consumers are billed appropriately for the electricity they consume by installing meters free of charge in household and business premises.

What the Presidency said

“The Federal Government provided funding for the programme through loans from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to DISCOs.

“Meters are provided to customers free of charge. This is indeed unprecedented and has so far led to the tremendous success recorded so far.

“It will be recalled that the first phase was launched later than expected in December 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a target of one million meters across the country.

“Till date, 750,000 meters have been delivered to DISCOs in just under eight months,” Zakari said.

The statement added that the NMMP so far has improved speed of installation of meters compared to its predecessor (Meter Asset Provider – (MAP), which recorded 350,000 meter installations in over 18 months. In preparation for the Second Phase (known as Phase 1) of the NMMP, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has conducted extensive consultations and stakeholder management and has revised its metering guidelines.

The phase will provide up to four million meters and shall also use a similar financing mechanism as in the first phase.

“One of the key successes of the NMMP initiative is how rapidly it has increased private sector interest in investing in local meter assembly, manufacturing and installation.

“This is in addition to the springing up of new factories such as the Quantum meter assembly plant in Lagos and the Smart Meter assembly plant in Kaduna.

“We are also seeing the refurbishment and upgrade of some metering plants that have also fallen into disrepair such as EMCON in Kaduna,” they said.

For the second phase, the FG revealed a central procurement mechanism to be overseen and supervised by the NERC will be employed in order to ensure that meters are secured at the lowest possible cost, thereby reaching the goals and objectives of the NMMP.

“The commencement of the procurement process of the second Phase has been done strategically to ensure that there is no gap in meter supply to customers as the NMMP transits from the first phase to the second phase.

“The Minister of Power, Mr Mamman Sale, has emphasised the administration’s commitment to eliminate the metering gap by 2023.