8m metering gap stifles liquidity in power sector — FG

The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has said that the eight million metering gap that exists in the power sector is responsible for the poor liquidity in the sector.

He said most Distribution Companies (DisCos) were unable to generate enough revenue to stay afloat because over 50 per cent of electricity consumers were unmetered.

Speaking during a facility tour of MBH Meter Factory in Shagamu along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the minister reiterated the target of the federal government to bridge the gap by partnering with local manufacturers to achieve two million meters’ installation annually over the next four to five years.

Adelabu said that MBH was strategic in the realisation of the federal government’s aspiration to upgrade aged power sector infrastructure and significantly reduce the metering gap.

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He further said, “We have identified poor liquidity as another major issue with smooth operation of the sector. At the foundation of this liquidity is metering which is what engenders collection by DisCos.

“Less than 50 per cent of electricity consumption nationwide is metered, and it has been like that for so long. Mr President said we need to reverse this ugly trend, and we must ensure that we get every household, every business, every institution, every industry metered over the next four to four years. The metering gap that we have, which is almost eight meters, must be reduced significantly in the short to medium-terms and eliminated completely in the long-term.

“This led to the establishment of the Presidential Metering Initiative being managed by the Presidential Metering Council of which I am the chairman, and we have a target to ensure that we ensure that we install a minimum of two million meters annually over the next four to five years.”

He also disclosed that the World Bank was also supporting the metering initiative with about two million meters under the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP).

The Managing Director of MBH, Rakesh Mahapatra, said that the company had supplied more than 700,000 meters, and that it had the capacity to produce 2,500 meters daily and 920,000 annually.

He said, “We are also providing solar solutions in Nigeria. We have successfully installed solar solutions to many customers in Nigeria. Our warehouse is completely solar-powered. We are also planning that our meter factory would be on solar supply.”