The Federal Government has announced plans to deploy seven million smart electricity meters across Nigeria under the Presidential Metering Initiative, aiming to address estimated billing and reduce revenue leakages within the power sector.
The disclosure was made by Mrs Olu Verheijen, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, during a media briefing on Sunday in Abuja as part of activities marking the second anniversary of President Tinubu’s administration.
Verheijen stated that the rollout forms a central element of the administration’s broader strategy to strengthen the financial sustainability of the electricity value chain, with a particular focus on the gas-to-power segment.
“There are a number of actions or interventions we are taking to enhance the commercial viability of the gas-to-power value chain,” she explained.
“We are developing policies and frameworks to support a transition to a more transparent system that allows us to recover the cost of electricity supply and, crucially, improve efficiency in determining those costs.”
As part of wider reforms in the power sector, Verheijen said the government is also working to resolve longstanding debts owed to power generation companies and gas suppliers.
“We plan to address the legacy debt using a combination of cash and promissory notes, ensuring that generation companies and gas suppliers are properly compensated,” she said.
The adviser attributed the mounting debt to the government’s previous struggles in funding electricity subsidies and the underperformance of electricity distribution companies in collecting revenue.
“In addition to these steps, we are strengthening revenue assurance by metering as many customers on the national grid as possible,” she added.
“This will help eliminate estimated billing and cut down on collection losses, ensuring that electricity delivered translates to revenue from paying customers.”
The Presidential Metering Initiative is one of several ongoing efforts by the Tinubu administration to improve efficiency and transparency in Nigeria’s electricity sector.