₦airaland Forum

Power distribution companies have expressed doubt over the directive by the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, that prepaid meters must be free for all categories of customers.

Operators, who spoke with our correspondent anonymously due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the minister made only a political statement without considering the input of other stakeholders, especially the installers and meter providers.

On Thursday, the Federal Government banned electricity distribution companies and installers from collecting any form of payment for meters, warning that DisCo officials and installers found extorting customers would be prosecuted. Adelabu issued the warning during an on-site inspection of newly imported smart meters at APM Terminals, Apapa, Lagos.

Adelabu said the meters were procured under the World Bank–funded Distribution Sector Recovery Programme and must be installed for consumers free of charge, stressing that any demand for money would be treated as an offence.

He said the meters would be given to all electricity customers, regardless of their band.

“I want to mention that it is unprecedented that these meters are to be installed and distributed to consumers free of charge—free of charge! Nobody should collect money from any consumer. It is an illegality. It is an offence for the officials of distribution companies across Nigeria to request a dime before installation; even the indirect installers cannot ask consumers for a dime. It has to be installed free of charge so that billings and collections will improve for the sector,” Adelabu said.

However, the DisCo operators who spoke with The PUNCH said the meters tagged as free by the Federal Government would still be paid for by the DisCos within a period of 10 years. The operators told our correspondent that the DisCos cannot be the ones paying for installation, wondering why the government wants them to bear the cost of installation.

According to them, meter installers are not DisCo workers, and someone has to bear the cost of installation.

“Those meters you see, someone has to pay for them, and the government expects the DisCos to bear the cost of the so-called free meters. They said the DisCos can pay it over 10 years.

When you ask the DisCos to pay for any capital expenditure, we call it allowable capex. You have to allow it when computing their tariffs; otherwise, it makes their balance sheets toxic,” an official with a distribution company stated.

Another operator said, “We need to know that meter installers are not staff of the DisCos. They are already asking who will pay them if the consumers do not pay. Did the minister consider all those? You said the people should not pay the installers; who should pay them? We, the DisCos, are not the ones installing meters. That role was taken away from the DisCos when Babatunde Fashola was the power minister.

“They said the DisCos have no business with metering. This is the result we are seeing today. Assuming the DisCos are the ones installing meters, you can force them to pay. We will all see the outcome of that pronouncement in the coming days. If the government can pay installers, no problem, but I’m not sure any DisCo will volunteer to pay the installers.”


The officials described Adelabu’s comment as a populist statement from a politician.

“The statement was just a populist statement from a politician. We are not sure if the President sent him that message. He said everything should be free; where is the position of cost recovery? Anything you do in the power sector, you have to first consider who bears the cost. Somebody has to bear the cost to avoid debt piling up.


“The government ought to sit with the Discos and the meter manufacturers to seek advice if the plan is to make sure the people don’t bear any cost, and we will come up with our various contributions. But instead of doing that, the government would go and make unrealistic promises to the public. For instance, the meters are coming in batches, but you have made the masses believe that there are enough meters for everyone. That’s not the reality,” one of the sources stated.

The operators added that the free meter declaration would jeopardise the Meter Asset Providers scheme, which allows the sale of meters to individuals who desire them.

“People are now rejecting the Meter Asset Providers scheme because they have heard that meters are free. The minister came up with a very wrong narrative. Has he sat down with stakeholders before going out to say meters are free? How can you say you have enough meters for over five million people? We still have the MAP scheme ongoing, whereby the meter provider sells directly to the customer. MAP is still there because the free meters they are bringing cannot fill the metering gap.

“So, MAP has been going on simultaneously over the years. But this latest statement is now affecting MAP because people don’t know the difference. The government should clarify and let the people know that the free meters can’t go round everyone; they should state the areas that can get the free meters and the category of customers, so that others not captured will know they will have to go for MAP by getting the meters with their money and get a refund through energy credits over time.

“But with the minister’s statement that the free meters are for all customers, nobody will go for MAP again, and I don’t know how badly this will affect local meter suppliers in the MAP scheme,” one of the DisCo operator stated.

The stakeholders urged the government and the regulator to always consider cost recovery in their plans.

“If he says meter installers should not be paid, who’s going to pay them? The DisCos or the Ministry of Power? Those are the questions the government should answer. The regulator should always talk about cost recovery. From the look of things, the minister does not seem to care much about cost recovery, and he’s happy making political statements.

“He has to tell us who’s going to pay. We agree, people should not pay, no problem, but who will pay? Is it going to be subsidised again? Is the government going to pay for it? If the government says the operators should pay, where will they recover the money from? Every penny has to be accounted for and recovered. The purpose of doing business is cost recovery; if you cannot recover your cost, you will be cutting corners,” another operator stressed.

The DisCos asked the government to always tell the masses the truth, worrying that the customers are already getting agitated over the minister’s comment that meters must be free.

“We must always tell the people the truth. I don’t know how the minister intends to do it, but his comments are not helping matters; he’s not even protecting the MAP scheme. He is putting the MAP scheme in jeopardy. Already, customers are fighting their DisCos because the minister made a statement that meters are free for all. How’s that possible? It is a challenge, but we see how it goes,” an official with one of the DisCos said.

Source: https://punchng.com/discos-reject-fgs-free-meter-plan

Day 1 of Tinubu leaving Nigeria again for abroad.

Based on his travel history, we know something major is about to happen.

If the government wants to make a service or product free of charge for it's citizens, it is not just by making a declaration on air. The government should pay the appropriate people in order for the citizens not to have to pay for it anymore. Otherwise it will just be like those secondary school bullies who tell jambites to go and buy snacks for them with their (jambites) own money and even bring change for them!

Govt Don carry thy citizens handicap. As in the more the citizens dey look the less them they see

I thought state governments has been constitutionally empowered to take over electricity distribution what is the meaning of DISCOS again .Nigeria a pariha country and a failed state,lying president,governors,ministers.

So your problem is now the cost of installation that is labour cost? Not the cost of meter itself?

Okay ooo...

As for me I dont just know why all Nigerian leaders both elected or selected hate this country passionately

No excuse for this country not to have affordable 24 h electricity

Why won't they rejected it when they knew it is an avenue for them to chop Nigerians money.

This shouldn't be a problem at all. In order to avoid any avenue for some cabals to start embezzling money from a subsidised installation fee with government intervention, let the users pay the installation fee. That will be far cheaper than the cost of getting a prepaid meter. Instead of paying 150k+ for getting a new prepaid meter, I would rather pay 10k or just 20k for the installation and get the meter for free. Also, as per the MAPs (Meter Asset Providers Scheme), which is to encourage users pay for meter and get a fund through energy credits over time, why not run the scheme alongside the free meter project and make it optional for users to choose whichever plan they want based on their location and the band they belong?

Some people may find it as a better option if they have the money to pay for the meter and get energy credits in return while some people can't afford to raise the money for the meter but can pay for installation and later purchase energy credits that they need.

The Minister of power has spoken, he has taken a very bold positive step to help solve the problem of the meter distribution in Nigeria, the Discos shouldn't make this whole issue complicated for the masses. I am suspecting that this rejection is an attempt to give some people access to free money through the idea of installation subsidy which will still cause a lot of problem for the country.

I go lie for you?

This one's are looking for avenue to exploit Nigerians..

Onces person just get some power, the next thing na too exploit him neighbor

They always budget billions for free meters yet the people still pay for it.

Single phase meter is around N137,000 and 3-phase is N228,000. Prices are on the websites of the distribution companies.

Until the power sector is fully liberalized, all these "drip feeding" will not have any impact. It is safe to assume that the bulk of these funds will be looted under whatever guise

Hmmm, this is serious I swear

We need Wilke in the ministry of power. At least for four years.

When this meter thing came out, it was shared free. Watin come happen when you need pay huge amount to get meter ?

No transparency in Nigerian government.
Presidency talking one thing, the stakeholders will say another.

Only the people that lived in the pre-colonial-times that enjoyed this country.

They should stop making this issue unnecessarily complicated. Both Discos and government are not being honest with the truth.

Allow the customers bear the payment for the installation. The government provide the free meters and customers can interface with Discos and pay the installers through the Discos.

The Discos role should only be limited to proper supervision of the meter installation and not the service payment to the installers;

MrDoGood:
When this meter thing came out, it was shared free. Watin come happen when you need pay huge amount to get meter ?

There's nothing free the government can offer to the masses.

So Babatunde Fashola dey among people wey dey spoil this country hmmm it's well

I like what Adelabu has done so far. Lol.

Discos are were.ys and have no sympathy like most Nigerian business people. Everything is an opportunity to make quick money.

They have been provided meters they will repay back in the next 10 years and they want to quickly take the money from consumers now. So, the institution that provided such opportunity considered them or the consumers to do such?

They MUST provide the meters free, and they bill repayment of the meters gradually over 10 years. This 10-years payment provided isn't for them. If the meter costs N200k, they must divide the money over 9.5 years repayment so that consumers pay N1.9 per month for the next 10 years. And they apply inflation to the cost. At most, consumers pay N5 per month for the meter, and they will repay everything back in 9.5 years. But the Discos want to collect the cash immediately from consumers. Why then, does the installment payment exist? For them or for the customers?

As regards the cost of installation, it should be around N500 per meter. If the meters are installed in bulk, like 1 person installs 20 meters per day and they move like 50 installers to a location, it means that per day, they can move 1,000 meters per day. Logistics cost is the same and they pay per day. So that logistics is the cost of fuel (they must have vehicle na...or don't they have?). And then, each installer collects N10k per day. It's enough. That's about N500,000 installation fee and max of another N50k which will be N550k for every 1,000 meters installed. This will be N550 per household. So. They shouldn't collect more than N550 per meter na. Let's say they are greedy and they want to cash out seriously for like N1m for logistics (I don't know how moving 1 000 meters for N1m is justified, but let say that's the price...then. the final cost is around N1,500 per meter. Or let's say, they want to knock some millions even billions, N2,000 per meter is enough. But these people are knocking out like N5b for each directors they have and they may have like 15 directors. Just imagine how much they are making. Plus, they get to keep the meter cost in a secured investment that will give directors like N10 billion each per year for the next 10 years na. Very greedy people. (The calculation is just to show you how it works and not the real figures).


But they want to collect around N250k per meter. And they put the money in an investment vehicle for good 10 years before they repay the suppliers. And also overcharge for installations.

This is the kind of corruption we need to address in Nigeria. It is killing the nation, and people aren't ready to stop until they finally destroy everything.

This is funny and strange, you are the business owner ( Disco) and collecting money for the service you provided, how is it now the business of your customers to provide measuring apparatus to quantify what your customers consume.

For example, do motorists come along with meter whenever they want to buy fuel from the filling stations?,

After paying for the meters, you pay for installation, you pay to fix or replace transformers, you pay to replace defective electricity poles, you replace burnt uprisers and cables... The list goes on and on. At the end, you are still told that non is your property but DISCO property.

Last last.... you as consumer still pays utility bill. Hmmmm... It is well ooo.

It is called a loss leader in business terms

The cost of a modem is insignificant compared to the total data you pay for over the lifetime of the product.

What is the cost of the meter compared to the total revenue that passes through it?

The discos are the last people who should be taking as they are corrupt top to bottom, telling people to pay for transformers and other scams.

VERY FEW NIGERIANS REASON WELL...

The meter is a property of the discos, it is what they use to bill/generate money from consumers and govt has done the right thing by making it available for the discos , then it is the duty of the discos to have proper agreement with the installers how they will be paid and not pushing the payment to consumers.... Till now if anything happens to the meter, this same nonsense discos will lay claim to it and still pick it up.... Nigerians are actually not smart

alphanyx:
After paying for the meters, you pay for installation, you pay to fix or replace transformers, you pay to replace defective electricity poles, you replace burnt uprisers and cables... The list goes on and on. At the end, you are still told that non is your property but DISCO property.

Last last.... you as consumer still pays utility bill. Hmmmm... It is well ooo.

Exactly. All these discos have long since transferred their operational, capital and maintenance costs to the customer.

Imagine not making available means to which you are bill your customers yet you want customers to me charged.

The level of dishonesty in the Nigerian business environment is so appalling, nobody tries to hide it any more.

It's unfortunate that the discos don't have trained staff that can install prepaid metres.
Seems they were only trained in cutting wires.

adenigga:
Source: https://punchng.com/discos-reject-fgs-free-meter-plan

Simply because that is where they make dirty money that makes electricity less accessible to the less privilege in the society and works hardship on the citizenry.

I knew the will never agree to the directive of the minister

Why do we buy mobile phones to make calls, then buy call credits on the phone to call? Why can't the network providers provide mobile phones to us for free because it is just a device to measure the units that we used on calls.

MTN, Airtel, Glo and the rest of them have their branded mobile phones with their SIM card on it by default, yet you still have to purchase the phone before you start using it to call. So, if the government is rooting for us to get it for free, it is not because they are running a charity organization, it is just a way to make it accessible by many people. If you can't pay for the meter in bulk, there is a way the service providers can pay on your behalf as long as you remain a loyal customer to them. Last last, they will deduct the cost from the energy credits that you purchase on a long term basis. So, they are not actually paying for you, it is just a WIN/WIN game.

I go lie for you?

When I saw the news I already know say na Lamba. You go pay for meter, connection\wiring and configuration.

I said it earlier that
Adelabu penkelemess is simply a clown

He should better go and study what you s ministry stands for

Good luck to those expecting free installation of prepaid meter

Una go wait tire

GloriousGbola:
Exactly. All these discos have long since transferred their operational, capital and maintenance costs to the customer.

During fashola first year as power minister, I paid 60k for this thing. That was in abuja. As I work there, nobody will scam me. I was told that every time I load, I will get 2k free. So if I load 500, I will get 2,500 till the 60k us finished. The 60k finished and nigerian civil servants being who they are, did not set up their system to end when it clocks 60.
I was magnanimous enough to tell my manager. The way she rebuked me eeeh ,saying its the work of IT at HQ. If they can't do their job properly,I should enjoy. That's my luck. Till I travelled out, na so I dey get free airtime. I left around 70k work of electricity there as at that time. Should be more than 500k or more of today.
One of my tenant is using that. Still the same.
The caretaker of that house, his luck.

Here’s a clear, straight-to-the-point summary with key takeaways:
Summary
Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) and industry stakeholders are criticizing the government’s claim that electricity meters will be free for all customers. They say the promise is unrealistic, misleading, and already causing problems. According to them, meters are being supplied in limited batches and cannot meet nationwide demand. The statement has also damaged the existing Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme, where customers can legally buy meters and get refunded through energy credits over time. Stakeholders warn that the policy lacks planning, stakeholder consultation, and clarity on who will pay for the meters and installations, threatening sustainability and local meter suppliers.
Key Points
Government promise seen as unrealistic
Meters are coming in batches, not enough for everyone.
Public was misled into believing meters are available for all.
MAP scheme is being damaged
People are rejecting MAP because they believe meters are now “free.”
MAP is still necessary because free meters cannot close the metering gap.
Local meter suppliers risk collapse if MAP dies.
Lack of clarity from government
No clear explanation of:
Who qualifies for free meters
Which areas will get them
Who will pay for supply and installation
Cost recovery problem
Meter installers must be paid — but by who?
DisCos question whether:
Government will subsidize it
Operators will bear the cost
Without cost recovery, the system becomes unsustainable.
No stakeholder consultation
Minister allegedly made the announcement without engaging DisCos or industry players.
Growing public tension
Customers are now fighting DisCos because they expect free meters.
Confusion and anger are increasing due to misinformation.
Bottom Line
The policy sounds good politically, but economically and operationally, it’s weak. Without funding structure, clear implementation plans, and stakeholder coordination, the “free meters for all” promise risks:
Killing the MAP scheme
Crippling local meter businesses
Creating public unrest
Making the power sector more unstable