- Operators are now permitted to supply meters to electricity consumers in the country
- The monopoly enjoyed by distribution companies has been canceled by a new law approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission
- To solve the problem of inadequate supply of meters, NERC created a new class of operators in the industry called Meter Asset Providers
With the new law approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the monopoly in the supply of meters to electricity consumers in the country by distribution companies has now been canceled, as operators are now permitted to also supply meters.
According to the electricity sector regulator, a new class of operators in the power sector called Meter Asset Providers (MAPs) have been mandated to join in providing the service.
The NERC commissioner for legal, licencing and compliance, Dafe Akpeneye, said the MAPs would henceforth be responsible for the supply of meters to customers, among other functions, Premium Times reports.
NAIJ.com gathered that Akpeneye disclosed this at the 25th Monthly Power Sector Meeting in Abuja.
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He said that the challenge of non-availability of meters for electricity consumers was a serious concern to NERC, consumers, distribution companies, financiers and other interest groups in the industry.
He said: “We all arrived at the same answer that we have to do something different to solve the problem. We can no longer leave this very important obligation to the distribution companies alone. Other players have to come into this space. So, that was why we created the NERC Meter Asset Provider Regulation, 2018.
“In the past, NERC left metering of electricity consumers as the sole responsibility of the power distribution companies as included in their performance agreement.
“But, It’s been over four years since privatisation of the power sector and customers are still complaining about inadequate supply of meters. So, to solve this problem, we created a new class of operators in the industry called Meter Asset Providers."
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Meanwhile, NAIJ.com previously reported that the Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) declared that electricity consumers that were not provided with prepaid meters as at March 1, 20017 should stop paying electricity bills presented by DISCOs on the basis of estimated billing methodology.
The commission also ordered the DISCOs not to disconnect any such customer that refused to pay the bills and further advised such customers to report to the commission if disconnected.
The NERC said that the new directive was in line with its mandate of protecting the rights of customers.
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Source: Naija.ng