NERC Mulls Creating Metering Subsector for Power Sector

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is considering a new proposal to decouple the job of procuring and deploying electricity meters to consumers in the various distribution networks from the distribution companies (Discos) and handing it over to meter vending firms, THISDAY has learnt.

THISDAY gathered in Abuja that the proposal though still being studied by NERC and stakeholders in Nigeria’s electricity supply industry would create a new and interlinked metering sector for the industry, responsible solely for the manufacturing and installation of meters to consumers, if accepted for implementation.

Parts of the objectives of the proposal as learnt would be to help create a financially viable metering subsector, one that takes away the responsibility of meter provision to consumers from the Discos.

Accordingly, it would also push for improved local manufacturing of meters to close the country’s current metering gap which is reportedly huge and contributes to electricity revenue leakages.

The proposal would also seek to create meter vending firms that are linked with the Discos across the country, to at the request of the Discos install meters to either new or existing customers. They will also calibrate the meters to bear some biometric details of their users through which instances of electricity theft or meter by-pass could be effortlessly traced and the culprits prosecuted.

The Acting Chairman of NERC, Dr. Anthony Akah confirmed the existence of such proposal to THISDAY. He stated that stakeholders such as the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Discos and others were considering its merit and potential execution in the sector.