Home Electricity Sale of meters: Why government should break the monopoly of distribution companies-Stakeholder

Sale of meters: Why government should break the monopoly of distribution companies-Stakeholder

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The Executive Secretary of Electricity Meters Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (EMMAN), Muyideen Ibrahim, has enjoined the Federal Government to break the monopoly of distribution companies in the sale of meters to electricity consumers as a way of addressing the challenges of estimated billings

According to him, the development would enable electricity consumers procure and own meters directly, adding that the association had always advocated the need for government to liberalise the metering arm of the power sector, so that everybody could have access to meters.

He said: “If every consumer has a prepaid meter, it will allow them to manage the electricity consumption, and the Discos will collect revenue maximally without billing outrageously. But now the consumers are short-changed because they are being given estimated bills. It presupposes that the Discos are smiling to the bank, while the consumers are suffering.

“Unfortunately, some of the Discos are complaining that they don’t have the fund to invest massively in metering, whereas the meters are available in the various warehouses of the manufacturers. If the telecom sector could be liberalised, why not metering? The only thing is that it will enhance the whole power sector and also add value as well,’’ he said.

He called for a metering summit where all stakeholders would have the opportunity to brainstorm on the challenges facing the Discos and meter manufacturers.

He also appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to attract manufacturers with intervention funds at a single interest rate, in order to enable them import basic raw materials from overseas.

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