NEMSA reads riot act to meter manufacturers over sharp practices

The Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), has sounded a note of warning to meter manufacturers, who engage in sharp practices to cheat unsuspecting consumers, noting that the Agency is on top of its game to bring sanity to the industry.

Although NEMSA had debunked claims of substandard meters in the country, especially when consumers complained about meters reading faster than the expected calibrated rate, it plans to sanction any manufacturer found wanting.

According to the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Ewesor, many meter manufacturers can no longer engage in sharp practices because of its strict enforcement activities.

He stated this at an induction training in Lagos, to build the capacities of 40 of its engineers.

In his words, “The sanction level we have at this stage is to ensure that we do not allow bad meters to go into the system. We will get to the stage of the kind of sanction when a manufacturer has completely refused to change and in any case, it is difficult for you to engage in unscrupulous activities because you cannot deploy the meters if they have not been tested and certified.”

Ewesor said the capacity building programme will build its engineers’ capacity and technical officers on operation and maintenance of test equipment, troubleshooting, and calibration of electricity meter test instruments

“We are doing this because we want our people to be on top of the game, because without adequate knowledge, they will not be able to deliver. We are here to ensure that our staff can do some of the activities we engage the services of expatriates to do for us and this is why we brought the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) expert to train our people so that we use the machines we use to test meters in the country,” he stated.

He added, “With this exercise, we have been able to bring up an equipment that has been down for two years and to me this go to show that we can now increase the quantum and quantities of meter we can test in a day. The impact it will have in the industry is that it would increase the efficiency and volume of meters we can test in a day and with Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme to come, we are fully ready for the explosion that would come from the scheme.”

Also speaking at the event, the Director-General, National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN), Ahmed Nagode, lauded the initiative, noting that it would build a very efficient workforce to test meters while also ensuring that these meters function optimally.

“This is a very laudable effort from NEMSA for this capacity building programme, because it will ensure we build a very efficient workforce to really do the testing and to ensure that the meters we use are optimally functional and at the same time the issue of safety is ensured. We have been working with NEMSA to build human capital for the sector while also ensuring that we get the right skill set in order for the sector to deliver on its mandate,” he added.

He said the institute has trained about 600 staff of the utilities such as Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Discos with plans to train another 150 to build efficient and effective workforce for the sector.