The Bureau of Public Enterprises, an agency of the Federal Government, has said that electricity consumers will pay for the ongoing free meter installation through their tariffs.
The disclosure comes amid a row with electricity distribution companies over who is responsible for covering the cost of the prepaid meters being rolled out under World Bank–funded programmes.
The Federal Government and electricity distribution companies have been at loggerheads over who bears the cost of prepaid meters being rolled out by the Federal Government.
The disagreement erupted after the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, directed that prepaid meters procured under the World Bank–funded Distribution Sector Recovery Programme must be installed for electricity consumers free of charge, warning that any official or installer found collecting money would be prosecuted.
However, electricity distribution companies expressed doubt over the directive, insisting that although customers may not pay cash upfront, the meters would still be paid for by the DisCos over a period of 10 years, raising concerns about cost recovery, installation expenses, and the financial implications for operators.
Reacting to the controversy, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Ayo Gbeleyi, dismissed claims that the DisCos were being asked to pay for the meters over 10 years, regretting that the Federal Government’s free metering programme was receiving pushback from the DisCos.
Speaking in Lagos at the N501bn bond issuance signing ceremony to settle power sector debt, Gbeleyi expressed concern that the DisCos were giving a wrong narrative as far as the free metering initiative was concerned.
He insisted that suggestions that DisCos were paying for the meters were unfounded. “So, for anyone to then suggest that they are paying over 10 years, or that the DisCos are paying for it, that’s absolutely not the case. So we are taking this opportunity to provide that clarity to Nigerians,” he added.
According to him, the Federal Government had embarked on the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme, which is a $500m loan intervention from the World Bank to assist distribution companies to strengthen their infrastructure and improve governance, as well as enhance liquidity.
“In this regard, a total of about 3.22 million meters are being made available to the DisCos,” Gbeleyi said.
The operators described Adelabu’s comments as populist. “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,” one source stated.
They added that wider consultation was needed to avoid misleading the public. “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,” another source said. The standoff testifies to the persistent tensions between regulators and operators in the power sector, even as the Federal Government insists that the metering intervention is designed to protect consumers and improve billing efficiency.
