CBN backs up scheme to ensure accurate electricity billing
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Installation of 856,026 electricity meters under the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) has been backed up with a N47.83 billion facility from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
NMMP aims to provide power meters across the country by providing loans to electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to procure meters for their customers, and to local manufacturers to assemble meters.
CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele disclosed the backup fund in a communique issued after a meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) in Abuja.
He cited improved revenue by DisCos as a result of increased meter installations.
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Power sector funding
Emefiele explained that the CBN released N274.33 billion to power sector players as part of its effort to support them under the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Partner Assurance Facility (NBET-PAF), per reporting by Nairametrics.
According to him, the fund is in addition to N20.58 billion released to DisCos under the Nigeria Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility-Phase 2 (NEMSF-2).
“To further support the development of enabling infrastructure in the gas industry, the bank released additional N3 billion for the augmentation of an existing infrastructure, bringing the cumulative disbursements under the intervention facility for National Gas Expansion Programme to N42.2billion for six projects,’’ he said.
About NMMP
The NMMP wants meters installed free of charge in households and on business premises to ensure consumers are billed accurately for electricity consumed.
The scheme has helped increase private sector investment in local meter assembly, manufacturing, and installation.
It is also expected to help reduce collection losses and increase financial flows to achieve 100 per cent market remittance of DisCos.
The CBN announced in November 2021 that it had disbursed N47.66 billion to DisCos under its mass metering scheme, and they received another N37.6 billion under the Nigeria Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF-2).
However, despite the aggressive intervention of the CBN in the power sector over these years, electricity supply remains unstable all over the country.