FG Moves to Provide Meters to Unmetered Band A Customers, Gives Short Deadline
- The Nigerian government has promised to provide electricity meters to Band A users by September 2024
- The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu said the government has set aside about N20 billion for the provision of the meters
- The minister disclosed that the plan will slash electricity subsidies in the country
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Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.
The Nigerian government has given September as the deadline to provide meters to unmetered Band A users.
The minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, disclosed this at a recent event organized by BusinessDay.
Source: UGC
Band A users get priority
The Minister stated that there was an accrued N20 billion for metering and that there is a plan to procure meters for these customers.
Adelabu said:
“We are releasing N20 billion for the electricity distribution companies to procure meters for the unmetered Band A customers before the end of September.”
According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Band A users are the customers who get about 20-24 hours of electricity daily.
Recall that NERC had in April 2024 announced an increase in electricity tariffs, which saw the rates jump from N66/N77/kWh to a whopping N223kWh.
The commission said the newly approved tariffs will cut down subsidies for 2024 by about N1.14 trillion.
FG moves to slash electricity subsidy
NERC disclosed in January that the Nigerian government would pay N1.6 trillion in electricity subsidies in 2024.
According to reports, about seven million electricity consumers in Nigeria remain unmetered, per data from the NBS and NERC.
“The government has put in place the required framework to enable an injection of 1.5 million meters into the power sector through the World Bank Distribution Support Recovery Program.
“The Presidential Metering Initiative will ensure an additional 2 million meters will be procured annually for 5 years. This will ensure accurate billing, reducing revenue loss and improving cash flow for a more liquid power sector,” the minister added.
World Bank loan to boost electricity
TheCable reports that the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) revealed that the Nigerian government secured a $500 million loan to boost electricity in Nigeria.
The report said that the government will procure 3.5 million electricity meters in 2024, saying that the government has put in place the necessary machinery to add 1.5 million meters to the power sector via the World Bank distribution sector recovery programme.
Step-by-step guide to checking if you’re on Band A
Legit.ng earlier reported that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) approved an increase in electricity tariffs for Band A consumers on Wednesday, March 3, 2024.
NERC’s Vice Chairman, Musiliu Oseni, said this category will pay N225/kWh of electricity, an increase from the the previous rate of N66/kWh.
According to the NERC boss, Band A consumers receive about 16-20 hours of electricity daily, while Band C users get between 12 to 16 hours of electricity daily.
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Source: Legit.ng
