Tunde Bakare
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has confirmed availability of about 700,000 electricity meters for nationwide distribution.
The Vice Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Musiliu Oseni, revealed this while delivering his opening address at the 4th NESI Stakeholders Meeting in Abuja on Tuesday.
The meeting marks Oseni’s final NESI stakeholders’ session in his capacity as Vice Chairman.
He challenged utility firms to improve publicity and rollout speed, noting that the government had already invested in procuring the meters.
“There are currently 600,000 to 700,000 meters available in the country. Utilities must improve publicity. The government has made the investment, so the DisCos need to step up.”
Addressing regulators, operators, and stakeholders, Dr. Oseni touched on critical “crossroads” for the sector.
With the transition to State Electricity Regulatory Commissions in full swing, Dr. Oseni issued a stern warning to DisCos regarding their cooperation with new state regulators.
“No licensee is bigger than their regulator”, he emphasised.
On recent media misinformation regarding the tenure of NERC Commissioners, he said, “Staggering Principle” is embedded in Section 36 of the Electricity Act, which was exported from the Electricity Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) and applied to only the pioneer Commission. Subsequent Chairmen and Commissioners have 5-year tenures as provided in Section 36 (1) of the Act.”
With the transition to state electricity regulatory commissions, Oseni advised DisCos to cooperate with new state regulators.
“No licensee is bigger than their regulator,” he said.
Also speaking, Dafe Akpeneye, the NERC commissioner of legal, licensing and compliance, dismissed DisCos’ claim that thousands of meters are missing because customers moved them without approval.
He said just as a “post no debit” order forces a bank customer to visit a branch, DisCos must use their vending platforms to enforce compliance.
“If you don’t know where the meter is, the customer shouldn’t be able to vend,” Akpeneye said.
“Issue a public notice that you cannot identify these meters. Block them from vending and take them off your system until the people concerned come forward.
“Stop behaving as if you are doing customers a favour.”
Nathan Shatti, the NERC commissioner for corporate services, speaking on meter asset provider (MAP) refunds and installations, highlighted the poor performance of specific utilities.
He said Abuja and Kano DisCos have achieved only 2 percent compliance on refunds.
The NERC official rejected technical excuses for the delay in installing paid-for meters.
“If your network is not ready for metering, do not collect people’s money,” Shatti said.
The commissioner added that uninstalled transformers or meters result in losses for DisCos, urging them to meter customers and address transformer issues.
Shatti said over 350,000 meters are yet to be migrated to the new standard transfer specification (STS), and demanded immediate cleanup of obsolete data.