Meter manufacturers urge FG to ban foreign companies from TCN bidding
…TCN ready to waive Discos’ N270 billion debt, to recapitalise, to invest in power sector
Electricity Meter companies in Nigeria under the Association of Meter Manufacturers and Assemblers Nigeria (AMMON) has urged President Bola Tinubu to ban foreign companies from bidding for the manufacturing of electricity meters organized by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN). .
This was made known by the association’s Secretary, Durosola Omogbenigun, in Abuja.
However, they also urged FG not to use the World Bank’s $155 million for the importation of electricity meters into the country.
AMMON said it wants foreign bids banned due to the nature of the bidding process which they say highly favors foreign companies.
They revealed that TCN in a tender publication, unveiled requirements for bidders to apply for the World Bank’s 155 projects, under the Nigeria Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), which requires stringent requirements before a vendor could access the loan and affects local manufacturers.
The association said the TCN scheme which aims to close the metering gap in Nigeria’s electricity sector favours foreign companies citing the evaluation criteria opening is designed to eliminate Nigerian meter manufacturers.
According to them, “consequently, indigenous manufacturers have insisted that implementing the policy will mean taking away Nigerian jobs and depriving the economy of the benefits the loan was meant to bring.”
Omogbenigun added funds should rather be made available to local meter manufacturers who could produce the meters, adding that granting foreign companies the license to bring in fully-built meters at a zero import duty would cripple the sector.
“We found out that the evaluation criteria by way of turnover, cash flow, and experience for the bid seem to be designed to eliminate the local manufacturers.
“Our interest today is to quickly state that this World Bank project is inimical to the growth of the manufacturing sector and the progress that has been made in the local content policy, as stated in executive order 003 of 2017.
“It also negates the gains that have been achieved in backward integration, technology transfer, and employment within the industry.”
Association Treasurer and Chief Executive Officer of Holley Metering Limited, Mr Ifeanyi Okeke also said the local meter manufacturers could meet the 1.2 million metering target of the World Bank loan, adding:
“We are not against World Bank-funded projects but the fund should be channelled in such a way that it will catalyze employment for Nigerians,” he said.
