No More Shortages: FG Launches New Metre Factory in Nigeria

• The federal government opened a new metre factory to solve the problem of shortages
• The vice president said that the factory will solve the problem of shortages in metre
• The development will help resolve the power supply challenges in the country

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over three years of experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.

The federal government has launched an electric energy metre factory to produce 1.4 million meters yearly.

Vice President Kashim Shettima commissioned the manufacturing factory in Oraifite, Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State.

This comes after NERC recently announced an increase in the price of prepaid metres.

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New factory to close metre gap

Shettima, according to The Cable report, said that the development would help close the metre shortage gap in the country and drive growth in the energy sector.

He said:

We commend this initiative as we commission the factory to the glory of God and the use of humanity. This will help reduce the shortage of prepaid meters in the country.

He claimed that the factory's construction would assist in resolving the nation's problems with electricity supply.

Furthermore, he said, it directly answers the Federal Government's appeal for domestic and foreign investors to put money into Nigeria, support employment creation, and boost the nation's economy.

Okechukwu Onyejiuwa, the Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Energy Management Solutions Limited (AEMSL), said the factory can produce 1.4 million metres annually.

He added that the single-phase and three-phase and the maximum demand metres will be produced in the factory.

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He also said that 500 direct jobs, primarily comprised of engineers and technicians and finance and administration professionals, will be created from the factory.

In addition, he projected that the company's operations would create approximately 4,000 indirect jobs in addition to the direct jobs.

Onyejiuwa claimed that the factory's operations would boost economic activity in the nation, particularly considering the high-tech nature of the talents needed for the production process.

Furthermore, he stated that the factory would save its limited foreign exchange by lowering the prices of imported raw materials. This would also help develop local sources of raw materials for export to other African nations and other regions of the world.

Nigerians access more prepaid metres as DisCos install 171,107 in 3 months

Legit.ng reported that The number of prepaid metres installed continued to grow slowly in the first quarter of 2023, from 164,612 metres installed in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 171,107 metres installed in Q1 2023.

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This indicates a 3.95% quarter-over-quarter increase in the number of installed metres.

This was disclosed in the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission's first-quarter report for 2023.

Source: Legit.ng