By Adedapo Adesanya
The latest data has shown that 178,864 prepaid meters were installed in the second quarter of 2023, representing an increase of 3,586 or 2 per cent against the 175,281 installed in the first of the year.
This was disclosed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in its Q2 2023 report posted on its website on Wednesday.
The commission said a total of 168,397 meters were installed under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) framework while 9,302 meters were installed under the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) framework.
It said that the vendor and Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) financed framework recorded 1,143 and 22 meter installations, respectively.
”The commission expects DisCos to utilise any of the five-meter financing frameworks that have been provided in the 2021 Meter Asset Provider and National Mass Metering Regulations.
”To close their respective metering gaps. As a safeguard for customers against exploitation due to the lack of meters,” the report said.
It added that the commission had continued to issue monthly energy caps for all feeders in each DisCo.
”This sets the maximum amount of energy that may be billed to an unmetered customer for the respective month based on gross energy received by the DisCo and consumption by metered customers,” the commission said.
NERC disclosed that four million meters would be provided to consumers this year but the increase in the prices of prepaid meters the single-phase meter and the three-phase meter has caused a lag following the Naira devaluation and removal of fuel subsidies.
Manufacturers based the justification for a price increase on the scarcity of foreign exchange at the CBN window, Naira devaluation, additional speculation for meters, increase in the price of diesel, continued inflation as well as the increase in the price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) after the removal of fuel subsidy.
Despite failing to meet up with the expected average deployment of 1.64 million meters per annum, which would have bridged the gap in the last eight years, a fund meant for the government-funded NMMP scheme was allegedly misappropriated as metre suppliers, the DisCos and the powers that be in the sector reportedly forged figures amidst portfolio companies that could not deliver.
In 2022, the CBN approached a Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State to freeze 157 accounts of Meter Asset Providers for allegedly diverting intervention funds under the NMMP between January 1, 2020, to March 15, 2022.
The court documents showed that the apex bank requested 15 commercial banks and the Bank of Industry (BOI) to freeze the accounts of 157 companies for 180 days pending the outcome of its investigations.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Business Post Contributor