Business
FG Set To Buy One Million Prepaid Meters
President Goodluck Jonathan has approved funds for the procurement of one million prepaid electricity meters.
This is coming as the Federal Government last week shifted its earlier target of generating 6,000 megawatts of electricity before the end of 2014 to 2015.
Addressing the complaints of power consumers and Civil Society Organizations during a town hall meeting in Abuja, the Minister of Power, Prof Chinedo Nebo, said the private sector owners of the electricity distribution companies inherited a lot of customers who had no meters.
He said the private sector inherited a customer base in which 50 per cent do not have meters.
According to him, this has resulted to a plan by the ministry through the presidency to issue meters with the funding of over the one million meters.
Asked to state when Nigerians would start seeing the meters, Nebo said “the fact is that the funding has been approved by Mr President and the funds will be released very soon”.
He said the meters were being procured even as he said it would be possible in few couple of months because the mechanism still needed to be developed on how they would be shared to the Discos.
Nebo said the Discos would distribute and install the meters and everything is being worked out.
According to him, some people may not be happy to give out meters but the government think consumers must be given meters even as he said the panacea to the incidence of estimated billing was the provision of meters.
The Minister said that the ministry was working with security agencies to address the issue of vandalism as the government views it as sabotage.
“Payment of tuition fees for undergraduate/postgraduate studies shall be subject to a maximum limit of $25,000.00 per semester,” the Manual states.
The expansion of international card limits also reflects growing confidence among lenders that foreign exchange liquidity has improved enough to support retail dollar transactions.
Speaking recently at the BusinessDay 14th Annual CEO Forum in Lagos, CBN Olayemi Cardoso, governor of the CBN said buying and selling activities now increasingly determine outcomes in the foreign exchange market, unlike in the past when market participants relied heavily on routine Central Bank interventions.
According to Cardoso, Nigeria’s net foreign exchange reserves have risen from just over $3 billion at the start of the reform programme to more than $40 billion, while gross reserves have climbed to about $52 billion, providing stronger confidence for investors and enabling the Central Bank to reserve interventions for periods of market stress rather than day-to-day liquidity management.
The restoration and expansion of international naira card spending limits are increasingly being seen as one of the clearest signs that the benefits of the CBN’s foreign exchange reforms are beginning to reach households, students and businesses making legitimate cross-border payments.
The Secretary-General and Chief Executive Officer, WEC, Dr Angela Wilkinson, disclosed this in a statement, last Thursday.
“Nigeria’s participation comes at a pivotal time as the country seeks to expand energy access, strengthen energy security, accelerate gas development and mobilise the capital required for industrialisation and sustainable economic growth.
“WEC Nigeria will convene leaders from across the energy ecosystem, apply the WEC’s globally recognised Energy Trilemma framework to Nigeria’s unique context, and promote evidence-based dialogue, practical collaboration and informed policymaking.
“It will also ensure that Nigerian and broader African perspectives contribute meaningfully to global energy conversations,” she said.
Wilkinson expressed confidence that Nigeria would play a significant leadership role at the World Energy Congress scheduled for Riyadh in April 2027 and beyond.
The statement also quoted the Chairman of WEC Nigeria, Isa, as describing the country’s participation as an opportunity to deepen national and African leadership within the global energy community through practical solutions tailored to regional development priorities.
He said the platform would promote collaboration across sectors and attract sustainable investments into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of WEC Nigeria, Wunti, was quoted in the statement as saying that the council would connect leadership, evidence and investment to build a secure, affordable and sustainable energy system.
“This system will be capable of driving economic growth and shared prosperity.”
According to him, the platform will also connect Nigerian institutions and businesses with international knowledge, technology, partnerships and investment opportunities through the World Energy Council’s global network.
Recall that WEC, founded in 1923, is the world’s oldest independent and impartial community of energy leaders and practitioners, advancing informed, collaborative and practical action across the global energy system.