Ikeja and Eko Electricity Distribution Companies this Friday started the distribution of 206,701 meters to customers under the national mass metering programme, an arrangement that will ensure that customer’s homes are installed with meters without being asked for upfront payment .
Under this arrangement, Ikeja Electric has been allocated 106, 000 meters which is the share of the company from the one million distributed nation wide would be distributed among the six Business Units under the company.
The installation of the meters would go on simultaneously with the ones being installed under the Meter Asset Programme (MAP )of the company.
The exercise which started with Victory Estate at Amuo-Odofin area of Lagos State will last for two months.
Speaking at the launching of the programme, Taofeek Basanyan, Business Manager, Oshodi Business Unit of Ikeja Electric, said under the programme customers are going to be metered without making any upfront payment .
He said under this particular initiative the company was allocated 106,701 meters which should be deployed in the next two months.
He stated under the first of the programme the Federal Government is rolling out one million meters from which Ikeja Electric
The Federal Government had said it was going to deploy six million meters to all the Discos in the country. This is the first phase of the programme which started this Friday.
It is going to be done in two phases, the distribution of the one million meters is the first phase which what has happened this Friday.
Similarly, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has kicked off its own programme. The exercise in Eko took place its distribution of the electricity meters in Surulere
The programme was expected to commence simultaneously in Kano, Kaduna, Ikeja and the Eko Distribution Companies franchise areas.
In a press statement signed by the General Manager, Corporate Communications, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC), Godwin Idemudia, axis, one of the areas
Speaking on the programme, Godwin Idemudia, General Manager, Corporate Communications, EKEDC, said that the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) is in fulfilment of the Federal Government’s and the Discos commitments to close the metering gap in the Country and enhance the revenue collection of Distribution Companies.
He said that under the new arrangement Distribution companies are expected to go from location to location with their respective Meter Asset Providers to provide and install meters for their customers.
Eko Electricity is expected to roll-out over 100,000 (One Hundred thousand meters in the first phase of the programme from the locally manufactured companies such as Mojec International Limited and Momas Meter manufacturing company.
Idemudia disclosed that the National Mass Metering Program (NMMP) will increase Nigeria’s metering rate, eliminate estimated billing and strengthen the local meter value chain by increasing local meter manufacturing, assembly and deployment capacity.
He added that the initiative will also reduce collection losses, increase financial flows to achieve 100 percent market remittance obligations of the Discos and support Nigeria’s economic recovery by creating jobs in the local meter value chain whilst also ensuring customers only pay the exact value for their energy consumption.
The National Mass Metering Programme (NNMP) is expected to roll out 6 million meters for all connection points on grid without meters over the next 18 to 24 months and estimated to impact over 30 million consumers nationwide.
The Programme is also a demonstration of the current efforts by the Federal Government to improve power supply and mass metering as part of the agreements recently reached with Organized Labour.
