Manufacturers export meters despite meter deficit

Despite the metering deficiency in the country, some meter manufacturers have begun the exportation of meters to neighbouring African countries. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AFCTA) has opened up a pathway for trading within the region and the meter manufacturers allege governmental policies within Nigeria is hindering business survival.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) data shows that of 8,310,408 customers registered in the Nigerian electricity sector, only 3,704,302 customers are metered. This means a total of 55.4% of electricity customers remain unmetered almost eleven years post-privatisation of the sector.

Despite several government metering policies, the metering capacity of the sector seems unable to improve. The most recent of these policies, the National Mass Metering Policy (NMMP) has also recorded poor implementation figures. The performance of the NMMP has been lacklustre implementation. Data obtained from the NERC shows, as of April 2021, only 210,000 under the program had been distributed to the various distribution companies.

The Chairman of NERC while speaking on the status of the NMMP has said, “We remain optimistic that the companies will deliver, especially as we have started meeting weekly to review their performances, using our personnel, who send reports from different locations nationwide.”