The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced plans to roll out seven million smart electricity meters across the country under the Presidential Metering Initiative.
This move aims to eliminate estimated billing and plug revenue leakages in the power sector.Mrs. Olu Verheijen, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, revealed the plan during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
The rollout is a critical part of the administration’s strategy to boost the commercial viability of the electricity value chain, especially the gas-to-power segment.“There are a number of actions or interventions that we are taking to ensure that we improve the commercial viability of the gas-to-power value chain,” Verheijen said. “We are developing the policy and the frameworks that enable us to transition to a system that allows us to charge the cost of delivering electricity, and more importantly, to drive efficiencies in arriving at that cost.”
As part of wider power sector reforms, the government also plans to clear legacy debts owed to generation companies and gas suppliers using a combination of cash and promissory notes. These debts had accumulated due to previous electricity subsidy shortfalls and poor revenue collection by distribution companies (Discos).
“In addition to this, we are making sure that we improve revenue assurance by ensuring that most customers on the grid are metered,” she added. “With this, we can end estimated billing and ensure that we reduce collection losses so that customers who get electricity are paying customers.”
The government will demand performance commitments from all players across the power value chain to ensure accountability and efficiency. Verheijen also highlighted the importance of stronger governance within Discos, noting that regulatory frameworks will be used to enhance their technical and financial capacity to deliver more reliable electricity.
Earlier this year, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) fined eight distribution companies a total of N628 million for violating estimated billing capping regulations.
These measures form part of ongoing efforts to accelerate prepaid meter deployment and clamp down on estimated billing abuses.
