The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to an equitable and transparent distribution of newly procured smart electricity meters under the World Bank-supported Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), dismissing allegations of discrimination and unofficial charges by power sector officials.
At a stakeholders’ forum in Abuja convened by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), with representatives of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and several electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in attendance, the Director-General of the BPE, Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi, said the engagement was necessary to address public concerns surrounding the rollout of the meters.
The DISREP initiative, backed by a $500 million World Bank facility, is designed to close Nigeria’s metering gap, currently estimated by NERC at about 5.3 million customers, while improving billing accuracy, reducing commercial losses and strengthening the financial sustainability of the power distribution sector.
Gbeleyi said 20 per cent of the meters would be deployed to replace aged or non-functional units, while the remaining single-phase and three-phase meters would be distributed to eligible applicants within 48 hours of application, without discrimination. He stressed that both the meters and their installation were free of charge, warning that any form of extortion or unofficial payments by electricity officials would attract sanctions.
The government also reiterated its commitment to transparency, assuring consumers that no qualified applicant would be denied access to the meters. The assurance follows complaints by electricity users over alleged exploitation by some DisCo officials, which has reportedly hindered access to prepaid meters despite official guidelines.
Meanwhile, the Edo State Government said the batch of smart meters earmarked for free distribution under the federal programme had yet to reach the state. The Commissioner for Power, Paul Usenbor, disclosed this in Benin City, warning that the state would not tolerate irregularities in the distribution process.
“As we speak, the free meters have not arrived in Edo State. We will not accept irregularities in the distribution of free meters,” Usenbor said.
He also raised concerns over investor interest in the state’s power sector, alleging that some prospective investors were more interested in obtaining government letters to secure bank loans than in making genuine investments.
Usenbor added that Governor Monday Okpebholo had directed the Ministry of Power to adhere strictly to regulatory standards and technical requirements to ensure that only investors with the requisite capacity are licensed to generate and distribute electricity in the state.
