Uche Cecil Izuora
The deregulation of meter sales by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has been identified as offering room for vendors and buyers to sell meters at prices convenient to both sides.
The policy according to stakeholders is major reason why Electricity Distribution Companies, DisCos have raised the prices of pre-paid meters in the country.
While electricity consumers have kicked against the hike in the prices of prepaid meters many DisCos have notified customers that prices of meters have been raised.
The Electricity Consumers Protection and Advocacy Centre noted that the electricity sector in the country is inflicting more hardships on the masses.
After months of shutting down their meter application portals, some Discos over the weekend, came out with the reviewed prices of the product.
With the deregulated meter prices, a single-phase meter rose from N88,000 to an average of N147,000, depending on the vendor. This is about a 67 per cent increase for a single-phase meter.
In a notice to its customers, the Eko Electricity Distribution Company said the new meter prices were in line with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s Order on Deregulation of meter prices for the Meter Asset Providers Scheme.
According to the EKEDC, electricity meters from Quantum Manufacturing and Metering Solution Limited are N127,601.26 for one phase, and N231,895.99 for a three-phase.