… As Discos dump CAMPI scheme
By ADEWALE SANYAOLU

Electricity consumers waiting to see the end
of estimated billing may have to bury the
idea as the new owners of power assets
may have finally dumped the prepaid meter
scheme. Consequently, Nigeria’s power
sector reform may soon plunge into another
round of crisis, as investments into the
production of prepaid meters could be
under severe threat.
At the centre of the crisis is the suspension
of the Credit Advance Payment for Metering
Implementation (CAMPI) otherwise known
as prepaid meter, initiated by the Nigerian
Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to
close the metering gap and curb ‘crazy
billing’ in the system.
This is coming amidst complaints by
consumers that poor power supply and
high tarrif after the takeover of the assets of
PHCN by private investors are frustrating
dreams of power promised by the
government.
It was learnt, for instance, that out of the 10
distribution companies in the country, only
Ikeja and Eko Electricity Distribution
Companies adopted the CAPMI scheme as a
response to customers’ complaints against
estimated billing.
While the other Discos have yet to adopt the
metering scheme, indications emerged
recently that the new owners of the Ikeja
Electricity Distribution Company, NEDC/Kepco
Consortium, may have also suspended the
pre-paid metering scheme.
The scheme had been inaugurated a week
before the company was handed over to
NEDC/Kepco in a partnership with six local
meter manufacturers including MOMAS
System Nigeria Limited, MOJEC Group of
Companies, Chemo-technics Limited, MBH
Power Limited, Unistar Hi-tech System
Limited and First Global Excel Resources.
When contacted, the Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) of Mojec Group of Companies,
Mrs .Mojisola Abdul, one of the local
manufacturers of prepaid meter and a key
partner in the CAPMI scheme, lamented that
since they were interviewed and shortlisted
by NEDC/Kepco Consortium; the new owners
of Ikeja Disco, not a word had been heard
from them.
The suspension of the scheme according to
her portends grave danger for their
investments, lamenting that majority of the
companies involved in local production of
the meter invested money from bank loans
secured at very high interest rates, thus
putting their huge investments under threat
as a result of lack of patronage.
Also speaking, another key player in the
production of local prepaid meters and
Chairman, MOMAS System Nigeria Limited, Mr.
Kola Balogun, in a telephone interview with
Daily Sun at the weekend, decried the
suspension of the scheme, saying the
development negates the concept of the
transformation agenda of the Federal
Government.
Balogun alleged that the suspension of the
scheme was as a result of the estimated
billing system being enjoyed by the new
investors, which gives them room to
estimate bills to consumers that are not
metered, saying the amount runs into
billions of naira.
“You know once a consumer is metered ,it
will be difficult for them to have estimated
billing, hence, they are frustrating the
process and consumers are not happy
about this development,” he said.
The MOMAS boss said while consumers are
complaining as a result of not having
prepaid meters, his warehouse, regrettably
is full of meters that have not been picked
up by the respective discos, saying the
development was tying down his
investment.

www.sunnewsonline.com/new/business/prepaid-meter-scheme-dead-buried/

CONTINUATION
According to him, privatization must not be
at the expense of the citizenry and investors
because the latest development will not in
any way encourage industrialization of the
economy, insisting that the suspension was
counterproductive by every standard.
Balogun explained that if the new investors
are interested in bringing in their technical
partners, then government must also be
ready to protect local manufacturers
through a legislation that will encourage the
patronage of locally assembled meters.
He said local manufacturers are more
advanced in technology ahead of some of
their foreign counterparts because they
have invested heavily in equipment and
manpower in order to meet international
specification. He also dispelled claims in
some quarters that meters produced locally
don’t meet international specifications.
‘‘It will interest you to know that some of
these investors are still interested in the old
analogue meter. But I am sure that
Nigerians will resist this move because they
now know the difference between
analogues and prepaid. Analogue is
synonymous with estimated and ‘’crazy’’
billing systems, he said.
Balogun disclosed that his company, just like
other manufacturers has been able to create
jobs for Nigerians while also building
capacity, but regretted that the suspension
will send a lot of youths and system
engineers back to the labour market.
On the way out, he said consumers should
be made to get their meters directly from
approved vendors, instead of going through
the respective discos that are frustrating the
process.
However, an official at Ikeja Disco who
preferred not to be named said the
company has not suspended the scheme
but was only finetuning some areas of
CAPMI to see which option best suits it.
“You know this is a new company and like
every new entrant into a market, you study
the terrain and dynamics and choose the
best option that is favourably to you
because you are out to make profit. As soon
as we are through with that, we will roll out.
But to say the scheme has been suspended
will not be true,” he said.
This argument comes as an authoritative
industry source confirmed to Daily Sun that
the scheme had been cancelled.
“The new owners have cancelled the CAPMI
scheme. They said they had their own
metering strategy,” the source said.
Meanwhile, the Chairman, NEDC/Kepco
Consortium, Mr. Kola Adesina, denied that
the metering scheme had been cancelled,
but said the scheme was suspended to
enable the Disco complete a reassessment of
the entire system.
He explained that if the scheme was
considered efficient enough and in tandem
with the new investors’ plan, it would be
retained.
He said, “We are going through a process of
re-assessment of the system because we
want to assess the quality and efficiency of
the metering scheme. We are re-evaluating it
but we have not cancelled anything.
“As investors, we need to look at where we
are going and also consider whether the
metering scheme will get us to where we
are going. However, if it will not get us to
where we are going, we will drop it.”
Similarly, a source at the Eko Distribution
Company, who asked not to be named, said
the pre-paid meter scheme was still on but
doubted its eventual survival.
He said the Disco might dump the CAPMI
scheme for its own metering programme.
At the introduction of the scheme in March
2013, the NERC Chairman, Dr. Sam Amadi,
had noted that CAPMI would eliminate the
issue of estimated billing.