Adebayo Adelabu, the Minister of Power, stated that the Federal Government has given an assurance of its commitment to providing a 24-hour power supply in the country as it has taken critical steps to bridge the gaps in energy infrastructure, ensuring the availability of prepaid metres to all electricity consumers.
Adelabu revealed this during a recent visit to the Lagos office of CWG Plc, a company pioneering smart metering technology in Nigeria.
The Minister said his visit was evidence that the government is ready to support local industries.
“We all know that we have a huge metering gap, and the government is determined to reduce this over time. I mentioned a couple of metering initiatives that we have all witnessed – the Meter Acquisition Fund, the Meter Acquisition Programme, the Mass Acquisition Programme, and lately, the Presidential Metering Initiative.
“So, we have a huge metering gap to fill. And the mandate of the PMI is to ensure that in the next five years, an annual acquisition of 2 million meters minimum must be carried out,” Adelabu said.
According to him, local meter manufacturing companies must play a major role in reducing the importation of everything needed to close the metering gap, he stated that local industries are germane to the sustainability of the industry.
The minister maintained, “And beyond this, for the sustainability of the industry, provision of meters for future use and maintenance of already installed meters, we need the local industry. The government has vowed to support the industry for several reasons.
“The number one reason is to reduce the pressure on the foreign exchange requirements for importation. The second is for job creation. When you add value here locally, you will employ our people and a lot of households will be provided for.
“For reasons of technology transfer, our people must be trained to be able to support the local industry. And lastly, the reason of human capacity development,” he stated.
He added, “The number one support that you require is patronage. If you know that when you manufacture products locally there is a market where you sell them, it’s an incentive for you to continue to produce.
“In terms of availability of foreign exchange to import parts. Our raw material is required for local assembly. The government will need to prioritise the electricity supply industry. So, the little efforts you require will be made available. For those that need parts, credits, concessional credits will also be made available.”
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission said in a report that only 5.86 million of the 13.1 million electricity customers were metered, leaving a metering gap of over 7 million unmetered customers.
