The narration of estimated billings and unreliable power supply in Nigeria has for years been a source of concern for electricity consumers. Estimated billings are bills that do not reflect the correct status of energy consumed. Such bills far exceeding what a customer could have consumed within the billing period. Hence, consumers are often reluctant to pay bills due to them because of a lack of transparency.
However, as a way of eradicating estimated billings in Nigeria, the then Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in 2006 introduced a pre-paid metering system aimed at helping revenue collection, generation as well as preventing deceit associated with the analog meter reading.
Good enough, the introduction was widely accepted. Nigerians were further pleased when they were assured by the Federal Government then that the pre-paid meters would be distributed free to consumers to ensure accurate billings for domestic and industrial consumption.
The move, however, became contentious, when another directive confirmed that Nigerians are to pay between N25, 000 and N50, 000 for the meters under the Credited Advance Pay for Metering Implementation (CAPMI) scheme. Some consumers paid to get their meters installed, while some exchanged old meters for the new ones. Till date, millions of Nigerians are still grappling with the complexity of procuring prepaid meter.
Prepaid meter racketeering
Investigation reveals that private investors in the defunct PHCN claimed to have their own metering strategy. On the other hand, when the power sector was privatized, the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) promised to conduct a review. This, they did by hurriedly introducing new sets of pre-paid meters which gulp the energy units purchased much faster than the older meters they met on ground. This new tariff further compounded the difficulty brought about by the economic downturn in the country. As of today in Nigeria, there is no official price for meter procurement.
Meanwhile, a charge of N750 has been added to the erratically epileptic power supply, while in some cases, people buy as much as N10, 000 worth of units which fail to last more than a month as expected.
DisCos, having discovered that pre-paid technology has blocked unfair billings usually given to consumers subsequently stopped the sale of pre-paid meters because they believe estimated billing is the only way to make a profit in electricity distribution. It is no more news that Discos staff members have devised a means of using their own money to buy a pre-paid meter and resell to the public at higher prices.
Interventions
However, in a move aimed at ensuring that Nigerians are not cheated through estimated billings, in April this, a member of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, sponsored a bill seeking to prohibit issuance of estimated billings to consumers. The bill has passed second reading, under the Electric Power Sector Reform act (amendment bill), by proposing legislation to criminalize such billings method. By creating new sections 68 to 72 in the act to prohibit estimated billing in the country, the bill will also make it a right of every Nigerian to have a prepaid meter. The bill will address complaints of extortion by DisCos across the country.
Also, in June 2018 at the 28th monthly meeting of the power stakeholders in Kaduna, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, disclosed that the Federal Government has taken advantage of the new Meter Asset Provider (MAP) and provided a grant of N37 billion to a private sector operator to supply prepaid meters to interested DisCos.
Fashola stressed further that: “Estimated billing is the major cause of distrust and conflict between consumers and DisCos. Pre-paid meters are the easiest way to build a bridge of trust. I urge all DisCos to take advantage of this opportunity or to make their own funding arrangements to contract their own meter providers to supply and install meters,” he concluded.
Hope dimmed
Interestingly, privatization of the power sector was to ensure effective service delivery, through which income and consumption tariff paid by electricity consumers will be transparent.
The expectation of Nigerians was that Discos should lessen the burden of paying for electricity, but the reverse has proved to be the case.
A resident of Iwo Road Area of Ibadan, Oyo State, Mrs. Foyeke Adelowo, narrated how she was duped of N80, 000 on the prepaid meter. According to her, “To buy a meter in Ibadan is difficult. I was deceived by a DisCos’ official (names withheld), who promised to help in buying a pre-paid meter within three weeks after payment. He told me that the official rate for the meter is between N25, 000 and N50, 000, but that I should pay N100, 000, which I negotiated down to N80, 000.”
She continued: “When he did not bring the meter, I lodged a complaint at Iwo Road Business Office, where I met an official, who assured me that my money was intact. He said: The man that collected money from you is a contract staff, but you will get your meter as soon as meters are supplied. Almost 11 months after I have paid, I am still expecting my meter, she concluded.
This is one of the millions of Nigerians, who have been duped all in the name of getting a prepaid meter.
According to senior staff of a South-West based DisCo, who preferred anonymity, “Pre-paid meters are available in our store, but we have stopped supplying since 2017, after the CAPMI intervention programme, where customers’ self-finance meter acquisition was stopped by Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola. You should know that we are here to do business and make profits if every consumer is metered, there is no point DisCo being in business,” he said.
Who should provide meter?
There have been accusation and counter-accusations on who should provide meters for the consumers. According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) regulations, the Commission is empowered by the Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act, 2005 to ensure that electricity supply industry meets the yearnings of Nigerians for stable, adequate and safe electricity supply. The Act mandates the commission to ensure that electricity Operators recover costs on prudent investment and provide quality service to customers as follows: That all new electricity connections must be done strictly based on metering before connection. That is, no new customer should be connected by a DisCo without a meter first being installed at the premises; that all customers have the right to transparent electricity billing; that, it is the customer’s right to contest any electricity bill; that any un-metered customer who is disputing their estimated bill has the right not to pay the disputed bill, but pay only the last undisputed bill as the contested bill go through the dispute resolution process of NERC. That it is not the responsibility of electricity customer or community to buy, replace or repair electricity transformers, poles and related equipment used in the supply of electricity, among others.
The Commission also issued an estimated billing methodology which ordered all Discos to apply the formula in estimating their customers; as it will ensure that customers pay for only what they consume. But up till date, none of these Discos has complied. NERC’s Regulation on Standards of Performance for Distribution Companies 1.10 stipulates three months or 90 days after which the Utility Firm must find every means possible to read the meter for actual energy consumed if the premises is metered.
Also, in an interview with the former Managing Director of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KEDC), Alhaji Idris Mohammed, he said: “The purpose of privatization is sole because the sector was not meeting Nigerians’ electricity demand, so when the power sector was privatized, a lot was expected from the DisCos and the government has been intervening by giving them funds to help them meet their expectations, but they have failed in this regard. When Discos wanted to take over these companies, there were terms and conditions given to them, that between the first and second year of operations, they would provide 200,000 meters. What has happened to this agreement?” he queried.
However, the spokesperson of the Association of Nigeria Electricity Distribution Companies (ANED), Mr. Sunday Oduntan in a recent interview disclosed that: “Meter provision is now the sole responsibility of the Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC). According to him, “the Meter Asset Providers (MAP) regulations had introduced another class of operators in the power sector that would henceforth take up the duty of providing meters to customers, among other functions. It looks like from now on, metering is no more DisCos’ business, metering is now government’s business,” Oduntan said.
Refuting Oduntan’s claim at the just-concluded 29th Power Stakeholders Meeting organized by the Mainstream Energy Solution Limited (MESL), Mr. Babatunde Fashola said metering was still a contractual obligation of the DisCos, despite the introduction of MAP. He said: “MAP was introduced to address meter supply gap, provide relief to DisCos of the financial burden of supplying meters and allowing entrepreneurs to take up this as a business and diversify the source of meter supply,” Fashola concluded.
The way forward
Also, in a bid to ease issuance of pre-paid meters to Nigerians, in May 2018, the NERC made an announcement that it has given approval to 22 firms to supply prepaid meters.
According to the report, NERC’s Head of Public Affairs, Usman Arabi, said: “the approved companies have been issued certificates of ‘No Objection’ to participate in the meter procurement process. This number was chosen from a pool of interested applicants for the Meter Asset Provider (MAP).”
Arabi added that “MAP Regulation is intended to facilitate closure of the wide metering gap in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) within three years. The ‘No Objection’ is to qualify to intend investors to participate in the meter procurement process in NESI,” he said. The process is expected to help the 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) in Nigeria bridge metering gaps in their networks and also reduce or end estimated electricity bills.
The story so far has revealed that the DisCos do not have the financial capacity to provide a meter to electricity consumers since they have not done something tangible in the area of meter provision since privatization. There should be strict compliance to metering every house, as this is the only solution that can help Nigerians consumers who are not metered.
NERC should do more in monitoring Discos’ activities and those found to have been cheating Nigerians should be sanctioned, as this is the only way through which Nigerians can enjoy the stable, quality and transparent service. Provision of light should be a right and not something that they will still be struggling to enjoy even with their money in the pocket.
At the moment, Nigerians are at a crossroad as to whether to still expect a miracle from the new investors or brace up for the worst.
