Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu
FG set to deploy 6m electricity meters nationwide in Q1, Q2, 2023
Federal Government has disclosed of plans to deploy up to six million electricity meters nationwide during the first and second quarters of 2023, to reduce the number of unmetered electricity consumers in the country.
The plan is contained in a December 2022 document on the review of the performance of the power sector/Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry under the present administration.
In the document, Federal Government said it has successfully executed a metering initiative post privatisation with one million meters rolled out in the first phase of the National Mass Metering Programme.
According to the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) ‘were fundamental in designing and implementing this programme.’
“We are perfecting plans for an additional six million meters under the second and third phases of the programme that will commence in the first and second quarters of 2023 respectively.
“The first phase generated 10,000 jobs in installation and assembly and we anticipate over 20,000 additional jobs would be generate in the second phase. Both the phases have sustainable financing structures.”
Aliyu added that government was also establishing a Meter Service Fund that would allow for continuous metering in the NESI.
The move comes just as flat rates for unmetered consumers continue to rise amid nationwide and global inflation.
Unmetered consumers have lamented the growing price hike which has shifted from around N6000 to over N15000 per month in 2022.
