‘Metering consumers crucial to addressing power value-chain disruptions’

… The operator identifies the lack of funding as hinderance to MAP scheme

The Minister of Power, Saleh Mamman, has said that effective metering of electricity consumers remains the best option to help distribution companies get more money to pay generating companies.

According to the Minister, metering is one of the serious issues bothering Nigerians, particularly consumers of electricity, even as he restated his ministry’s commitment to supporting local meter manufacturers while also creating a level playing field for foreign investments.

Mamman during a visit to Momas Electricity Meter Manufacturing Company Limited (MEMCOL), added: “Metering consumers is one of the priority areas in providing electricity market liquidity and sustainability. We have to provide meter so as to get more money for the sector while also getting more money from the distributors to pay the Gencos, and the only way to achieve this is by metering. That is why I am here to see things myself and also direct on how to get these meters deployed as soon as possible.

“This inspection is encouraging me to tell Nigerians that we have people who can do deliver meters in Nigeria. I am very impressed to see a Nigerian company producing over 1000 meters daily,” he added

The Chairman, MEMCOL, Kola Balogun, identified lack of funding as hindering the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) regulation issued by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

He said the federal government must make liquidity available for meter producers to produce in large quantities to bridge the nation’s metering gap.

According to the Chairman of MEMCOL, the major challenge hindering meter manufacturers has been funding, adding that the Discos need to be recapitalised and adequately funded to deliver sufficient meters to consumers.

“We want to tell the whole world that we have the capacity and capability to deliver our metering solutions and to be able to bridge the metering gap. All we need is the government intervention to be able to make liquidity available for us to produce for the larger populace that requires meters in their households,” he said.

He pointed out that single-digit funding from financial institutions is still lacking, which he said was also responsible for MAPs’ inability to meet the nation’s metering requirement.

He urged the federal government to fully entrench the local content policy aimed at developing the nation’s natural resources, adding that his company has the capacity to upscale its local content to 70 per cent.

“In the Local Content Act, it is 30 per cent, but we have the capacity to upscale it to 70 per cent if not 100 per cent because we can double our shift and make sure that we run more shifts to meet all the 100 per cent that is locally needed,” he said.