DisCos receive CBN’s N14.35bn meter procurement fund under NMMP

EACH OF THE 11 ELECTRICITY distribution companies (DisCos) in the country are receiving its share of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) N14.35 billion prepaid meter procurement fund. The meters are being sourced under the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) of the federal government.

The apex bank had in December 2020 disbursed a total of N14.35 billion for the purchase of 263,860 meters by the DisCos.

The amount represents all the requests received from deposit money banks (DMBs) which are to handle accounts for the DisCos. Last year, the CBN issued a directive that all the DMBs in the country should take over all the DisCos’ revenue infrastructure.

to Osita Nwanisobi, CBN’s director of corporate communications, the fund is a loan to each of the DisCos. “The repayment is to be deducted from payments made by electricity consumers into the DisCos’ accounts with the DMBs, he said.”

He said the maximum tenor of the facility to the DisCos is 10 years, not exceeding 2030. It has a 24-month moratorium on the principal amount from the date of disbursement.

Meanwhile, Kenya, an East African country, has rolled out smart meters under the advanced metering infrastructure project to upgrade its electricity sector. The project was launched by Bernard Ngugi, the country’s managing director of power company, Kenya Power.

In all, the metering projAccording ect would benefit 55,000 customers, with focus on mostly small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The metering project has targeted the metering of 20 percent of the company’s SMEs customer base.

The project is a part of a World Bank-funded Kenya Electricity modernisation project, with plans to meter 55,000 electricity customers across the country. According to CapitalFM, a media outfit, the project which is funded to the tune of SH1.25 billion is scheduled to be completed by the end of June 2021.

Ngugi, the Kenya Power boss said at the launch of the project, “We believe that the advanced metering technology will further enhance customer satisfaction based on the visibility and prompt detection of power usage, and also reduce technical losses which are key to ensuring reliable and quality supply of power.”