The Federal Government has allocated N700 billion from the federation account to support the distribution of free electricity meters under the Presidential Metering Initiative. This sum, which is deducted from the monthly federation revenue before distribution to the three tiers of government, is intended to help close the country’s current 50% metering gap.
According to the Special Adviser to the Minister of Power on Strategic Communications and Media, Bolaji Tunji “The Presidential Metering Initiative is still on course. Two million meters every year, delivery of the first batch will start by the first quarter of next year. About N700bn provision has been made, and the money is ready.”
The Special Adviser confirmed that the government will deliver 1.3 million electricity meters this month as part of the World Bank-funded Distribution Sector Reform Programme (DISREP), which aims to distribute 3.2 million meters. Additionally, records from the Federal Account Allocation Committee meetings between April and August showed that the government has saved N420 billion through a monthly deduction of N100 billion.
The Managing Director of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, Mr. Victor Ojelabi, recently stated that the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) could unlock up to N1 trillion in revenue currently tied up in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry due to numerous unmetered customers. As part of the initiative, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has approved N21 billion for the 11 electricity distribution companies to provide meters to end-users at no cost.
