ABUJA, MAY 24, 2018 – Members of the Meter Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MMAN) are confident of improving their output as the approval of some firms as Meter Asset Providers (MAPs) by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is underway.
MMAN Executive Secretary Muhideen Ibrahim said the umbrella body of meter manufacturers was confident that NERC ‘s decision to approve some firms as meter asset providers will boost their profit margins, if the initiative is well implemented.
He said under the scheme, NERC will license some meter asset providers, which are expected to make available series of services ranging from importation of meters to vending of the product and acting as corporate installers.
In an interview with The Nation on phone at the weekend, Ibrahim said meter asset providers are going to serve as middlemen in the value chain as they will negotiate between the power distribution companies (DisCos) and the local and foreign meter producers on one hand and the entire electricity consumers on the other hand.
He described the scheme as a tripartite arrangement, introduced by the government, in order to boost activities of importers, manufacturers and installers of meters, stressing that the issue will improve access to electricity in Nigeria.
The idea, he said, will promote local content as operators, especially meter manufacturers, will get patronage for their product.
Ibrahim said: “The scheme has mandated that operators should use 30 per cent local content and 70 per cent foreign content. Going by this rule, operators such as the electricity distribution companies and the local meter manufacturers will benefit greatly. This implies that indigenous meter manufacturers, which have suffered low patronage, will experience a boost in their activities.”
He said when this happens, local meter manufacturers, which are seldom patronised by many of the eleven energy distributors, will get better patronage.
According to him, the issue is going to be a win-win situation for stakeholders, especially the DisCos, who are being accused of not giving meters to the customers and the local manufacturers of the product, who also have suffered losses caused by non-patronage.
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, announced the Federal Government decision to liberalise the metering industry by bringing in more players into the sub-sector.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, he said the government will achieve the goal by introducing and approving meter asset providers and thereafter provide a set of regulation to guide their operation.
The regulation on meter asset providers provides standard rules for the emergence and participation of independent and competitive meter asset providers in the electricity industry.
Also, the regulation ensures that licenses are issued to a new class of meter asset providers with a view to complement DisCos efforts to supply meters.
By this, estimated billing practices is expected to be eliminated in the industry, attract private investment into a viable metering services business, close the metering gap through accelerated meter roll out and enhance customer satisfaction and liquidity of the electricity market.
