Buhari assures rolling out one million meters at no cost to consumers

President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his readiness to make funding available for DisCos immediately in a bid to roll out 1,000,000 meters in the first phase, at no cost to consumers.

President Buhari stated that his administration is making all efforts to ensure that it closes the metering gap.

He disclosed that subsequent phases of the Metering Initiative will help his government to fully meet the 6.5 million deficits of meters nationwide, and will impact an estimated 30 million consumers.

The president who disclosed this via his official Twitter handle hinted that all meters under the program will be sourced from local manufacturers and in-country stock, to create jobs.

In his words:  “Under the first phase of the Presidential Mass Metering Initiative, we are making funding immediately available for DisCos to roll out 1,000,000 Meters in the first phase, at no cost to consumers.

“Deployment has already started in parts of Kano, Kaduna, Lagos, and Abuja.

“Future phases of this Metering Initiative will help us fully meet the 6.5 million deficit of meters nationwide, and will impact an estimated 30 million consumers.

“All meters under this program will be sourced from local manufacturers and in-country stock, to create jobs.

“We are committed to ending estimated billing in all forms in Nigeria, and ensuring that Nigerians pay only for the electricity they consume.”

It will be recalled that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) unveiled its framework for the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) on Monday, October 19, by the Development Financing department through its official website.

The introduction of the service-based tariff (SBT) in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) which commenced from 1st September 2020 has put increased emphasis on the need to close the metering gap in the NESI.