The review of the MAP Regulations 2018 and the development of a new policy framework on customer metering by the Federal Ministry of Power provides an opportunity to look at how meter procurement by electricity customers can be further liberalized to finally address the perennial metering gap and estimated billing challenges in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
Metering electricity customers has always been a challenge in the NESI. The major impediment to effective metering and closing the metering gap has been finance. Since the start of the reform of the electricity sector under President Olusegun Obasanjo, there have been several mass metering interventions by the Federal Government and the NERC to close the metering gap. Many of these mass metering interventions were funded by the Federal Government, which provided direct funding to selected meter companies to import and roll-out prepayment meters to electricity customers. The Federal Government also provided monetary and fiscal incentives such as concessionary funding, duty waivers, duty reduction and tax waivers to local meter assemblers to stimulate the assembly of meters in Nigeria.
Regulatory interventions in mass metering by the NERC were primarily designed for the customers to provide financing for the meters, which would be refunded back to the customer by the DisCo in the form of energy rebates. The most recent intervention by the NERC is the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) Regulations, which, according to Mr. Abdulkadir Shettima, a General Manager at the NERC, has been the most successful mass meter rollout programme till date. Under the MAP scheme, electricity customers financed a total of 611, 234 electricity meters between June 2019 and December 2020, when the MAP scheme was put on hold by DisCos.
To further fast-track the mass roll-out of electricity meters, the Federal Government in November 2020 launched the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP), a CBN funded intervention in customer metering. The main thrust of the NMMP is to close the metering gap by providing Nigerians with six million free meters. The Federal Government and the CBN must be commended for the bold initiative to provide the funding for the mass roll-out of meters under the NMMP free of charge to electricity customers. However, further to the on-going review of the MAP regulations, the NERC would need to fully disclose to Nigerians that the cost of the six million meters, plus an interest of 9 percent per annum will be included in their electricity tariffs over the next ten years.
Why isn’t there Financing for Customer Meters?
In my opinion, the major challenge of attracting financing to address the metering gap is the inclusion of the cost of meters and metering services in retail energy tariffs.
Under the current Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) tariff methodology, the cost of meter assets and provision of metering services to electricity customers are recognized as part of allowable regulatory capital and operating expenditure (CAPEX and OPEX) requirements to be recovered by DisCos from retail electricity tariffs paid by electricity customers.
Unfortunately, the power sector is plagued by a liquidity crisis as retail electricity tariffs are not cost–reflective, thus insufficient to cover allowable CAPEX costs for network improvement and loss reduction by DisCos. Consequently, investments in metering and other network improvements have been quite insignificant. The NERC in its consultation paper on the review of the MAP Regulations admits that the “prevailing absence of cost reflective tariffs, a contributory factor to the impairment of DisCos’ balance sheets, adversely impacts on the capacity of DisCos to raise the necessary financing to support critical investments including but not limited to the metering of customers”.
De-Coupling the Cost of Metering from Energy Tariffs
The MAP Regulation was the first attempt by the Regulator to de-couple the cost of meters and metering services from energy costs. This attempt resulted in Nigerians being able to procure their meters directly from Meter Asset Providers (MAP) who were required to install the meters within a regulated timeframe. However, DisCos are to refund the meter cost to electricity customers through a one-time energy credit. It would thus be interesting to see the revenue requirement and subsequent impact on electricity tariffs arising from DisCos’ refund of the financing cost for over 600,000 meters rolled out under the MAP scheme.
On the other hand, the recently introduced NMMP policy rolls back the cost of meters and metering services into retail electricity tariffs. Under the NMMP structure, the CBN would recover both the intervention and a 9 percent interest rate charge directly from DisCos energy collections. The imposition of a 9 percent interest rate (till year 2031) on retail electricity tariffs is inequitable to millions of electricity customers who can actually afford to pay upfront for their meters, if given a choice to pay.
Adopting the Mobile Phone Strategy
Mobile phones are analogous to electricity meters. To solve the conundrum in the metering sector, let’s look at the telecoms sector and the roll-out of mobile phones to Nigerians. Since August 2001 when the first GSM call was made on the ECONET network, mobile telephone subscription has grown to over 200 million active lines. There are 151 million active mobile internet subscription as at January 2021. It is estimated that Nigeria has over 100 million mobile phone devices. This means more than 50 percent of Nigeria’s population have mobile phones. As internet data costs become cheaper and internet penetration and broadband connectivity improve, the number of mobile phones in the hands of Nigerians is expected to double.
The important role telecoms play in our every lives cannot be overstated. From enabling commerce and facilitating exchange of goods and services, telecommunications has buoyed the Nigerian economy, spurring innovations and development in almost all sectors of the Nigerian economy and the growth of a vibrant digital economy. Data from the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) shows that the telecoms industry contributed over 14 percent to Nigeria’s GDP in 2020. The mobile phone has been instrumental in the quick penetration of telecommunication services and the internet. Farmers even use mobile phones to access agricultural extension services and purchase fertilizers.
As critical as the mobile phone is to the Nigerian economy, the Federal Government did not develop a policy to finance the procurement of mobile phones for (poor) Nigerians. Mobile Network Operators (GSM Companies) and mobile phone vendors did not have to make a case for the local manufacturing of mobile phones and the provision of foreign exchange for the importation of mobile phone parts and components. Mobile phone sellers do not seem to have challenges of accessing forex to import mobile phones, as they are able to pass the cost of naira devaluation to mobile phone customers.
The success of the mobile telecoms industry and ubiquity of mobile phones in Nigeria can be pinned on the fact that the Federal Government liberalized the importation and retailing of mobile phones from the very onset, and allowed market forces to drive the purchase and affordability of mobile phones. You can buy a mobile phone just about from anywhere. The more people were able to purchase mobile phones, the more mobile telecommunications services spread and also innovated. Today, Nigeria is Africa’s largest mobile phone market.
Unfortunately, this is not the case with electricity meters. Due to a slew of policies and policy reversals, regulatory inconsistencies and perhaps an over-regulation of the metering sector by multiple regulatory agencies, the electricity meter industry is near comatose.
Time to Liberalize Electricity Meter Procurement
Meter procurement by electricity customers should be liberalized. A key step to liberalizing meter procurement is for the NERC to henceforth exclude metering costs as allowable regulatory costs to be recovered by DisCos from retail electricity tariffs. Under a liberalized end user metering policy, the responsibility to provide meters would now be borne by electricity customer as part of the requirement for service connection. Electricity customers would directly purchase meters from MAPs. The MAPs would be responsible for installing the meter at the customer premises and ensuring that the meter is activated and connected to the DisCos’ backend metering systems.
In effect, liberalizing customer metering as proposed would make it compulsory for a customer to have meter before being connected to a DisCo’s network. In this regard, electricity customers who do not have meters would not be connected to the electricity network. Customers who illegally connect themselves to DisCos’ network would also be easily identified.
The liberalization of customer metering does not violate licensing requirements for Distribution Licenses under section 67 and tariff requirement under section 76 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) 2005. Specifically, there is no specific provision in the EPRSA that mandates DisCos to be solely responsible for procurement of electricity meters for end user electricity customers.
The meters to be procured must meet technical specifications of each DisCo and go through the technical certification processes by the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA). Under a liberalized customer metering policy, only meters approved and certified by NEMSA would be procured and installed.
Modifications to Extant Metering Regulations and Policies
Liberalizing customer metering as proposed would not require significant regulatory changes to the existing MAP regulations. Neither would it violate existing license requirements for DisCos and meter services contracts between DisCos and MAPs. For existing and new customers who are unable to procure their meters under this new liberalization policy, this is where the CBN financing under the NMMP should be applied. The same process outlined for amortized payment of meter costs under the MAP Regulations would also be adopted. The customer so metered would be billed a direct monthly cost of metering, transparently reflected as a line item on his/her electricity bill, indicating a repayment of the cost of the meter.
Benefits of Liberalizing Customer Metering
Liberalizing customer metering would bring immense benefits to the NESI and also to electricity customers who suffer the twin effect of poor services and high estimated billing. First benefit is that DisCos can increase their allowable capex requirement and deploy more investments to network improvements and reducing technical losses. Secondly, the metering gap would be closed faster as customers would be compelled to procure their meters if they are to continue to enjoy electricity services. But more importantly, there would be greater customer satisfaction and willingness to pay for electricity services by customers. More willingness to pay by customers would improve the liquidity situation in the NESI and reduce the level of government subsidies provided to the power sector.
To illustrate the need to liberalize customer metering, it is ironic that there are multi-million naira houses and residential estates being built across Nigeria, which eventually would be connected to the electricity grid with no immediate provision for metering. Liberalizing customer metering would allow owners of these new houses and residential estates easily procure prepayment meters at their own cost, which in turn would reduce cases of unmetered connections and invariably reduce the level of estimated billings in the NESI.
Conclusion
Liberalizing customer metering by de-coupling the cost of electricity meters from energy tariffs and allowing customers directly procure their meters as part of their connection cost to the electricity grid is the surest way to finally address the metering gap both now and in the future. Under a liberalized customer metering, the provision of metering would now be in the hands, rather the pockets of electricity customers.
For those who think liberalizing customer metering as proposed is unworkable or would impose financial hardships to (poor) electricity customers, the actual cost of estimated billings and the financial impact of the huge metering gap on the sustainability of the NESI, is far more expensive to electricity customers who continue to suffer poor service delivery in the sector.
Odion Omonfoman is an energy expert and the CEO of New Hampshire Capital Limited. He can be reached on [email protected].
