N170bn Required To Close Electricity Metre Gap – NERC

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said an estimated N170 billion is required to purchase about 2.8 million pre-paid electricity metres in order to close the existing metre gap in the Nigerian Electricity Industry (NESI). This was disclosed yesterday in Abuja at a media retreat by the Commission’s Senior Manager, Market Analysis and Compliance, Kanneng Kwom. 
She explained that the required amount was an estimate submitted to the Commission by the successor Distribution Companies (Discos) of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
“The Discos have estimated that N170 billion to purchase 2.8 million metres is required to meet the metre gap in the NESI,” she said.
Kwom noted that ways have been proffered by the Commission to enable the Discos meet with the responsibility of metering customers in view of the huge existing gap.
The proffered solutions by the Commission according to her include for the Discos to channel resources from monthly revenue collection, capital budget from owners and external funding to meeting the metre gap.
She informed that sequel to the privatisation exercise, the distribution companies will be required to enter into contract with preferred bidders of PHCN distribution assets for the supply and installation of metres, adding that the funding of the project rests squarely on the ability of the DISCOs to collect the tariff as contained in the new Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO-2).
The provision and installation of metres she also stressed would provide the Discos the ability to effectively collect accrued revenue with which to settle other financial obligations such as payment  for gas among others.