Adewale Sanyaolu
Electricity consumers may soon heave a sigh of relief as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), has rolled out fresh regulations under its Meter Asset Provider Regulation (MAPR), thus bringing an end to the monopoly once enjoyed by the electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) in providing meters.
The new regulation will also bring to an end the several years of untold hardship customers face with estimated billing.
The MAPR, which became effective April 3, 2018, according to NERC, is aimed at eliminating estimated billing and its attendant challenges in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), while also targeting to close the metering gap over the next three years.
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, had last year, shocked most Nigerians when he said the 11 Discos would need about N220 billion to provide prepaid meter to power consumers.
Regrettably, Nigerians have had to bear the brunt of the inefficiencies of the Discos by paying about N3 billion monthly in estimated billing as a result of the absence of a robust metering plan.
But the inability of the Discos to meter every household has been further compounded by liquidity challenges and difficulties in accessing credit lifeline from banks to purchase meters.
But in the face of these daunting challenges, there seems to be a ray of hope for the 11 Discos under the MAPR, which will save them the hassles of seeking for funds to carry out metering programme for over six million unmetered consumers.
What is MAPR
The MAPR was introduced in a renewed bid towards ensuring that electricity customers only pay for what they actually consume. The regulation provides for the supply, installation and maintenance of end-user meters by other parties approved by the Commission.
According to a statement issued by Dr. Usman Abba Arabi, the Head, Public Affairs Department at NERC, the regulation is expected to fast-track the closure of the metering gap and encourage the development of independent and competitive meter services in the sector.
It stated: “The Meter Asset Provider (MAP) Regulation (Regulation No. NERC/R/112), which would become effective on April 3, 2018, introduces meter asset providers as a new set of service providers in NESI.
As assets with a technically useful life of 10-15 years, the regulation provides for the third-party financing of meters, under a permit issued by the Commission and amortisation of over a 10 year-period.
Benefits to Discos/consumers
According to Arabi, the Discos, in line with their licensing terms and conditions, are obliged to achieve their metering targets as set by the Commission under the new regulation.
He explained that the contracting of Meter Asset Providers (MAP) shall be through an open, transparent and competitive bid process thus ensuring that meters are provided at a least cost to electricity customers.
“It is to be noted that there are no free meters even under the current tariff regime as all customers, including those on estimated billing, currently pay for a return on the investment made by Discos on meters in their networks.
“Under the new MAP regulation, customer classes shall be amended to ensure that customers only pay for meters when a meter is physically installed in their premises. The electricity bill of customers provided with a meter under the new regulatory framework shall comprise two parts – energy charge and metering service charge.
The payment of metering service charge will be removed from the customer’s electricity bill upon the full amortisation of the meter asset over its useful life.
All faulty meters are expected to be repaired or replaced free of charge within two working days, except in instances where it is established that the customer is responsible for the damaged meter.
In pursuit of promoting local content, the new MAP regulation mandates the investors to acquire a minimum of 30 per cent of their metering volume from indigenous meter manufacturers.
This local content threshold may be adjusted by the commission from time to time in line with the verified manufacturing volume of local manufacturers.
“The 11 Discos are expected to, within 120 days from the effective date of the regulation, engage the services of MAPs towards the achievement of their three-year metering targets prescribed by the commission.
The performance of Meter Service Providers shall be governed by the provisions of the Meter Asset Provider Regulation, technical codes of the electricity industry, and a Meter Services Agreement/Service Level Agreement signed with the Discos.”
ANED reacts
Executive Director, Research and Advocacy of Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Mr. Sunday Oduntan, explained that any move by government to bring about steady power supply would be a welcome development.
Oduntan, however, warned that the MAP should be done with transparency and integrity for it to achieve intended purpose for which it was conceived in the first place.
Consumers back new regulation
Power consumers have drummed support for MAP, saying they are ready to pay the prescribed meter service charge contained in the recently unveiled MAP regulations by NERC.
According to them, it is better to pay the fee and get meters than to continue paying a tariff that is meant to provide free meters but has failed to do so.
Reacting to the development, power users, under the aegis of National Electricity Consumers Advocacy Network, had in a recent interview said that the new regulation would curtail the payment of bribes to officials of electricity distribution firms for meters.
Speaking after a nationwide consultation with various consumer groups, the Chairman, NECAN, Tomi Akingbogun, said, “under the 2018 MAPR, power users will have to pay meter service charge that is separate from the energy bill. Hence, the customer will be paying for the meters and removing the responsibility of meter provision from the power distributors.”
Consumers are happy with the regulation because in the first place, the free meters are not available and the Discos are giving customers estimated bills that are far higher than what they would have paid if they had meters.
“Some customers even pay bribes in order to access meters. This is because it is better to have a meter than to pay for power when you have it and when you don’t have it through estimated billing.”
Akingbogun noted that the metering deadline given the Discos by NERC had elapsed two years ago, while millions of customers are still unmetered.