The Commissioner, Finance and Management Services, NERC, Nathan Shatti, stated that about N200bn would be required for the procurement of meters, nationwide.

He said the huge amount needed to meter electricity consumers was one major reason why it took away the sole responsibility of meter provision from power distribution companies. The more reason why the commission reached out to development finance institutions, adding that NERC wanted to ensure the provision of meters to the over four million power users without prepaid meters within two years.
The commission had also consulted the World Bank and the Central Bank of Nigeria with respect to accessing funds for the provision of meters through the recently established Meter Assets Providers. NERC had on March 12, unveiled a new regulation that introduced another class of operators in the power sector called Meter Asset Providers (MAPs).The MAPs is expected to take up the duty of providing meters to customers, among other functions.

Shatti also explained that MAPs would provide long-term funding for meters, noting that the commission had secured the acceptance of the CBN to support the initiative. He said, “From what the engineers told us, a meter has a lifespan of between 10 years and 15 years. So we said we would need somebody who could bring money and then finance the meter for 10 to 15 years. That was the reason why we had to involve the CBN to provide long-term financing to potential MAPs at low-interest rate. And we’ve been able to get the CBN’s acceptance that they are going to support the industry in that line. So now, if any MAP buys and installs a meter, he will need to recover his money over a period of 10 years.”

According to another senior official, “Maps will be independent people who will be approved by NERC but contracted by the Discos to bridge the metering gap. In doing this, there will be various options available to customers. Electricity customers will now have the option of self-financing. “Those who don’t want this will be able to obtain meters from MAPs and there will be a metering service charge spread over a period of 10 years.”

https://www.financialdigest.com.ng/blog/2018/04/22/power-firms-need-about-n200bn-for-metering-commissioner-nerc/