The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has assured customers of providing 330,000 meters this year and an investment of N43 billion in networks with the new tariff to boost electricity supply.
This is just as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) insisted that the Distribution Companies (DisCos) must meter consumers and create proper complaint handling schemes.
NERC gave the indication at a public hearing it conducted on AEDC tariff proposal in Abuja on Wednesday.
The NERC Commissioner, Legal, Licensing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye who chaired the AEDC tariff review panel, said the essence of the hearing was for customer to interrogate the process.
He also frowned at the killing of an AEDC staff and the injuring of another in Abuja last Tuesday during a routine bill collection round.
“In the course of the coming weeks, the commission will issue a clear message on this. Customers are entitled to safe electricity, but customers do not have the right to take anyone’s life,” Akpeneye noted.
The General Manager, Market Competition and Rates, Sharfuddeen Mahmoud said NERC would strictly follow the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO), which was adopted in 2008 in setting tariff.
He also noted that the MYTO provides that DisCos must meter all customers and resolving consumer complaints.
In his presentation, the Managing Director of AEDC, Engr. Ernest Mupwaya said the new tariff will help to improve investments that will boost power supply and consumer metering.
He revealed that the firm has earmarked N43.02bn investments to provide stable and reliable power supply to its customers.
Mupwaya said: “A total of 92 projects (Technical and Non-Technical) to add 89MW, improve network visibility and flexibility capacity at a total cost of N43.02bn is required.”
On metering, he said in four years, AEDC will rollout 867,291 meters. The records indicate that the firm deployed 170,239 meters in 2019 and is targeting installing 330,377 in 2020. It will install another 257,373 meters in 2021 and 109,302 in 2022 to close the metering gap across FCT, Kogi, Niger and Nasarawa State.
Previously, the firm provided 160,832 meters under the CAPMI metering scheme and had provided 81,533 meters under the ongoing Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme.
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