Discos: We are More Eager to Deliver Meters to All Consumers

The 11 electricity distribution companies (Discos) in the country have said they are extremely keen to deliver electricity meters to all their customers, as against the prevalent belief that they are unwilling to.

They also explained that they understand how important it is for consumers to frequently reconcile their consumptions with the costs they are made to pay for supplies to their homes through good meters, and was making efforts to ensure full metering of their customers soon.

Speaking through their umbrella trade association, the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), yesterday in Abuja, the Discos also clarified that a recent order by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) which mandated all Maximum Demand (MD) customers to stop paying estimated bills for power consumed by them to the Discos was only applicable to them and not residential consumers.

They thus called on other consumer classes who do not have meters yet to show some patience with them as they work to accomplish their full metering plans.

“We recognise that significant interest in the NERC notice is directly linked to our customers’ requirement that they be metered. And rightly so. It is critically important that we state that there is no more interested party in the comprehensive metering of our electricity consumers than the Discos,” said ANED in a statement from its Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Azu Obiaya.

They further stated: “And this is because we understand and fully appreciate the importance of the balance between electricity consumers tracking their consumption and Discos having a measure of electricity supplied to their customers, that metering brings. It is our hope and expectation that such metering will be achieved sooner rather than later.

“While we continue to operate with the estimated billing methodology that is approved and mandated by NERC, we are working diligently towards addressing the metering obligations specified under our performance agreements with the Bureau for Public Enterprises (BPE) as well as ensuring that we continue to be sensitive and responsive to the inadvertent challenges of estimated billing that our residential or nonMD customers are faced with.”

On the NERC directive on MD customers, the Discos stated: “The publications have erroneously stated that the requirement of nonpayment of electricity obligations, in the absence of the customer not being provided with a meter, applies to all electricity consumers. This is incorrect. For clarity, this requirement only applies to, and is specific to MD customers and not residential customers.

“For further clarity, MD customers are commercial and industrial customers who consume high levels of electricity and contribute substantially to the revenues of Discos. The consumption threshold for MD customers is 45KVA.The MD meters are connected on the 11Kv (high tension wire) electricity lines, mostly on dedicated transformers. The customers include heavy users of electricity like commercial business plazas, large firms, and small-scale industries among others.”