––Directs Discos To Embark On Mass Metering
President Muhammadu Buhari has
approved a one-year waiver of import levy on electricity meters to help improve Nigeria’s electricity meter deficit.
This was disclosed via a tweet by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on Wednesday night.
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NERC also announced that the president ordered operators in the power sector to carry out mass metering of unmetered customers nationwide.
The commission said, “The President has directed that there should be a nationwide mass-metering programme in an effort by the Federal Government to put a stop to estimated and arbitrary billing for.
Recall that last month DisCos operating in Nigeria were seeking funding from CBN to support the roll-out of meters nationwide.
The new regulations, Buhari said is in line with his administration commitment to support Nigeria’s electricity reforms and the NERC’s Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme.
On tariffs, NERC stated, “The general public and all stakeholders in the power sector are by this statement urged to disregard any reports of an arbitrary tariff increase affecting Nigerians.”
In the statement signed by NERC Chairman, John Momoh, tariff reviews going forward would only follow service-based principles.
This means that DisCos would only be able to review tariff rates for customers when they consult with customers, commit to increasing the number of hours of supply per day and quality of service.
It said, “In all cases, poor and vulnerable Nigerians will not experience any increase.
“In line with these expectations, Discos are directed to engage with their customers on a Service Based Tariff structure.”
It said customers would also be metered, adding that no estimated billing based on the strict enforcement of the capping regulation.
“This means that unmetered customers will not experience any cost increase beyond what is chargeable to metered customers in the same area,” the regulator said.
It added, “Even under the above conditions, there will be no change in tariff for the most vulnerable as tariffs for those consuming 50KW or less remain frozen.”