FG Targets Roll-Out Of 4m Meters Under NMMP
The Federal Government (FG) has unfolded plans to roll out four million meters under phase 2 of its National Mass Metering Programme.
It said the move is aimed at phasing out estimated billing by electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) and ensuring that consumers are billed appropriately for electricity consumed by installing meters free of charge in household and business premises that are currently unmetered.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Critical Infrastructure, Ahmed Zakari in Abuja.
It explained that the FG had provided funding for the program through loans from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to DISCOs.
The 1st phase (Phase 0) was launched in December 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with a target of 1million meters across the country.
“Till date, 750,000 meters have been delivered to DISCOs in just under 8 months. This is a marked improvement in terms of the speed of installation of meters compared to its predecessor (Meter Asset Provider – MAP program) which recorded 350,000-meter installations in just over 18 months,” the statement read.
It further stressed that in preparation for the Second Phase (known as Phase 1) of the NMMP, the Nigerian electricity sector regulator, NERC, has conducted extensive consultations and stakeholder management, and has revised its metering guidelines.
The FG noted that one of the key successes of the NMMP initiative is how rapidly it has increased private sector interest in investing in the local meter assembly, manufacturing and installation space.
“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 had been also fallen into disrepair such as EMCON in Kaduna.
“This development in the meter assembly space is driven by the Central Bank’s commitment to supporting local meter assembly/manufacturing as only local companies will be allowed to participate in the bidding process for the upcoming phase of the program.
“This promises to increase the job creation impact of the program which has already attained appreciable heights with over 10,000 direct jobs created as a result of phase 2 of the program,” it said.
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