Prepaid meters to customers hit 1.67m in 2018 – NBS

. Abuja, Yola Discos top in distributions

Temitope Adebayo

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that a total number of customers with prepaid meters increased to 1.67 million in 2018. The ‘Power Sector Report: Energy Generated and Sent Out and Consumed and Load Allocation’ report by NBS stated that Abuja Distributing Company (Disco) has the highest number of customers metered while Yola Disco recorded the least total number of customers metered. The latest report by NBS noted, “Total number of consumers with prepaid meters increased by one per cent to 1.67million customers in the fourth quarter of (Q4) 2018 from 1.65million customers in the third quarter of 2018. “Abuja Disco has the highest number of customers metered. This is closely followed by Benin Disco and Eko Disco while Yola Disco recorded the least total number of customers metered.” The breakdown by our correspondent revealed that Abuja Disco in 2018 had 295,641 customers with prepaid meters, while Benin Disco and Ibadan Disco have 287,995 and 256,804 customers with prepaid meters in 2018. Further breakdown revealed that, Eko Disco, 161,382; Ikeja Disco, 160,813; Enugu Disco, 141,465; Kaduna, 139,547; Port Harcourt Disco, 67,172, Kano Disco, 65,711;Jos Disco, 55,444 and Yola Disco, 37,702 prepaid meters. Nigeria’s National Electricity Commission (NERC) had disclosed that all Nigerian homes will have access to prepaid meters by 2020. NERC chairman James Momoh had said, “With all the mechanisms we have put in place, I am certain that every Nigerian home that wishes to have prepaid meter can have it by 2020.” In increasing prepaid meters in the country, The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, had raised the hope of Nigerians towards ending crazy electricity billing with the announcement of approval for 108 firms to supply meters. Speaking in January, the Minister said that 108 metering companies have been given licenses to supply meters to address the problem of discriminatory and arbitrary billing in the electricity sector. “It is the solution of our government by the President to intervene in the metering gaps, people were licensed as Gencos and Discos. “Discos have the contract to supply meters and we hear the concerns of citizens now saying that they want meters because their bills are going up. “So the President and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the proposal for us supported by the law, the Electric Power Sector Reform, with that, we can license new operators within a licensed area. “So this time, we are going to create new businesses for meter suppliers under a Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme. That policy has been approved. “NERC has made the regulations around which it will work; 108 companies, small businesses that will also create employment because those companies are now going to be the suppliers of meters. “They are going to employ people to install the meters, they are going to buy meters, they are going to make meters,’’ he said.