Benue State University, Makurdi

Electricity Metering System in Nigeria: An Examination of the Regulatory and Policy Initiatives to Bridge the Gap

Olanrewaju A. Aladeitan * and Suanu-Deekae K. Joan **

Abstract

The use of estimated billing system in the supply of electricity in Nigeria has generated a lot of concern as consumers complain unceasingly about the exorbitant fees charged by the Distribution Companies (Discos) for electricity usually not supplied. The overzealous nature of estimated billing is now evident as consumers still get ‘crazy bills’ regardless of how economical they are with the use of power, worst of all, is where the consumer has suffered series of short or long term power outages, is on vacation or shuts down the power supply to the property and is rewarded yet again with estimated billing. Despite the introduction of prepaid meters, estimated billing remains a menace to the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry as only an insignificant fraction of consumers is metered. To resolve the consequences of estimated billing and to close the metering gap, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has at various times introduced measures and schemes to ensure fair and appropriate billing of electricity consumers. One of such scheme is the Credited Advance Payment for Metering Implementation (CAPMI) and the most recent one is the Meter Asset Provider (MAPs) which came into force on the 31 st of March, 2018 and became enforceable on the 28 th of April, 2018. This paper examines the regulatory and policy initiatives adopted at various times by NERC to bridge the metering gap with a view to identifying the effectiveness or otherwise of the initiatives in closing the metering gap. Although, the paper observed that the problem of metering in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) remains largely unresolved, yet MAP regulation is a step in the right direction to solve the metering problem. The paper nevertheless concludes that for MAP regulations and any other NESI policy to be effective, the consumers of electricity must be supportive of the system by discharging their obligations and contributing their own quota towards the emergence of an efficient NESI since all the participants in the energy value chain though independent yet plays a significant role.

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