FG Strikes Deal for Deployment of 1.43m Meters Nationwide

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja and Peter Uzoho in Lagos

The federal government, through the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) and electricity Distribution Companies (Discos), has signed a deal with a consortium of firms for the supply and installation of 1,437,500 smart meters across the country.
The firms constituting the consortium include: Ningbo Sanxing Medical & Electric Co. Ltd as well as Ningbo Sanxing Smart Electric Co. Ltd. and Messrs XJ Group Corporation.

This information was disclosed yesterday by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on its official X handle.
At the signing ceremony held at the BPE headquarters in Abuja, it added that the TCN’s Chief Executive, Sule Abdulaziz, was represented by the Executive Director, Transmission Service Provider (TSP), Ajiboye Oluwagbenga.

Abdulaziz praised the project as a significant step in bridging the 7.1 million metering gap in Nigeria, stressing that it will significantly help in closing the wide difference between supply and demand of meters in the country.
The project, the TCN said, is part of the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), funded by the World Bank’s $500 million facility through the Investment Project Finance (IPF) arrangement.

Nigeria has had a longstanding electricity metering problem, with a significant number of Nigerian households and businesses lacking the metering devices, leading to estimated billing and revenue losses.

In addition, a number of the existing metering infrastructure is often outdated, faulty, or bypassed, resulting in inaccurate billing and energy theft.
There is also the problem of lack of standardisation wherein different types of meters are used, making it challenging to integrate and manage the metering system.

A number of electricity consumers in the country have complained about inefficient billing and collection, leading to errors, disputes, and revenue leakages.
In addition, addressing Nigeria’s electricity metering problem is seen as crucial for improving the country’s energy sector, reducing losses, and enhancing economic growth