Business
Expert Seeks FG’s Intervention On Electricity Metering
An electricity expert, Dr Reuben Okeke, has urged the Federal Government to intervene in the metering of electricity consumers in the country.
Okeke, who was a former Director-General of National Power Training Institute of Nigeria, made the appeal in an interview with newsmen in Abuja, last Monday.
” DISCOs will need government’s intervention as far as this metering issue is concerned. Over five million meters are required and the problem of DISCO’s is not only metering.
“There are so many customers’ household that are using electricity but are not even in the billing train of the DISCOs.
“So, if somebody is not in your billing train and he is making use of your product you cannot even give him estimated bill because he is not in your record.
“That is a huge amount of problem and they must find a way to combat it.
“But a credible bill is a half solution to financial liquidity that can sustain the market and there must be a way out and without it the power sector is going nowhere,” he said.
Okeke called on the Federal Government to extend the financial assistance given to generating companies to the DISCO’s to enable them meter their customers efficiently.
He explained that every month market operators sell energy to the DISCOs who do not get up to 50 per cent of the value.
Okeke said that metering of all electricity consumers through prepaid meters would help DISCOs recover the value of energy sold to customers.
He also called on government to invest in conventional and renewable energy for the development of the sector in the country.