Nigerians Access More Prepaid Metres as DisCos Install 171,107 in 3 Months
- The number of installed prepared metres increased by 3.95% quarter-over-quarter
- There are indications that the 11 DisCos in the country are struggling to meet the demand for prepaid meters
- In the first three months of 2023, the DisCos cumulatively received 249,683 complaints from consumers
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.
This indicates a 3.95% quarter-over-quarter increase in the number of installed metres.
This was disclosed in the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC’s first quarter report for 2023.
Source: UGC
This is despite several methods adopted to see Nigerians adopt the use of prepaid meters. In 2019, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) stated that customers could get the meters and pay later.
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This indicates that the 11 Electricity Distribution Companies, or DisCos, are having difficulty meeting consumer and commercial demand for prepaid metres.
According to a Vanguard report, this may indicate that the DisCos continue to demand payment for the electricity that consumers use using abusive and manipulative estimated bills.
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigeria's average electricity production increased from 3,655.64 megawatts (MW) reported in the same time of 2022 by 8.6% year-on-year to 3,970.33 MW in July 2023.
Over 6,000 meters installed in Q1
According to the data, 171,107 metres were erected overall in 2023/Q1, up from 164,612 metres in 2022/Q4 by a total of 6,495 installations (+3.95%).
Between 2022/Q4 (42.25%) and 2023/Q1 (43.31%), the net end-user metering rate in the NESI increased by 1.06 percentage points, or pp., as a result of the additional installations. Moreover, 158,634 metres were installed as part of the MAP intervention, whereas 9,931 metres were installed as part of the NMMP plan.
The Commission however expects DisCos to utilise any of the five (5) meter financing mechanisms that have been provided in the 2021 Meter Asset Provider and National Mass Metering Regulations (NERC – R – 113 – 2021) to close their respective metering gaps.
As a safeguard for customers against exploitation due to the lack of meters, the Commission noted that it has continued to issue monthly energy caps for all feeders in each DisCo.
It stated:
“This sets the maximum amount of energy that may be billed to an unmetered customer for the respective month based on gross energy received by the DisCo and the consumption by metered customers.”
Already, NERC disclosed that many consumers have complained of various irregularities, stressing that the DisCos cumulatively received 249,683 complaints from consumers in 2023/Q1.
This is 11,595 (4.44%) complaints, less than those received in 2022/Q4. In total, the DisCos resolved 229,101 complaints, corresponding to a 91.76% resolution rate which is similar to the 91.38% recorded in 2022/Q4.
Metering, billing, and service interruption were the prevalent sources of customer complaints, accounting for more than 79% of the total complaints during the quarter.
Electricity Tariff: Nigerians Brace for Potential Hike as 11 DisCos Seek price review
A total of 11 Nigerian electricity distribution companies have applied for the review of their electricity tariffs as contained in a Legit.ng report.
The Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) made this known in a notice it described as an application for rate review.
Legit.ng earlier reported that Discos are meeting with NERC to demand 40% hike approval citing losses from the petrol prices that keep escalating as well as fluctuating exchange rates, among economic conditions.
Source: Legit.ng
