04 November 2017, Sweetcrude, Lagos – Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc has signed an agreement with three companies, Electricity Meter Company of Nigeria, EMCON; Messrs. Marks & Adams Investment Limited, and Holley Meters Ltd to supply 200,000 pre-paid meters to its customers across the four states of its operations. The project will cost $45 million (N14.1 billion).
In separate ceremonies at the company’s head-office in Kaduna, the Managing Director/CEO of Kaduna Electric, Engineer Garba Haruna, disclosed that the three companies will supply 100,000 meters in the first tranche with a 90-day delivery time while the second tranche will see to the delivery of additional 100,000 meters.
He revealed that Kaduna Electric entered into the vendor-financed agreement with the three companies to help bridge the huge metering gap inherited by the power distribution company or Disco. “The effort is one of our various initiatives of boosting customer confidence and satisfaction,” he said.
According to him : “Beside being one of the KPIs for distribution licensees, we in Kaduna Electric consider effective metering of our customers as an obligation and an integral part of our business plan. It is one of our top priorities and we hope that the three companies will be part of the success story.”
He charged the meters manufactures and vendors to live up to the terms of the contract and ensure that all meters to be supplied meet the industry’s international standard and the specifications of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, and the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency, NEMSA.
“The report received so far from the customers’ enumeration and asset mapping exercise we started last year indicated that we have a potential for four million customers in our franchise area which covers Kaduna, Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara States. As such, 200,000 meters is just the starting point. There is opportunity for long term business relationship.
“I therefore urge you to comply with the terms of the agreement and ensure that all meters to be supplied meet international standard and the specifications of the regulators”, he stated.
He also revealed that other projects which compliment metering such as new billing system, injection substation automation, AMR on MD customers, software applications developed for monitoring and efficient service delivery will soon be commissioned.
He listed other value-added benefits that will accrue to the nation’s economy to include “provision of direct and indirect employment to our teaming youths who shall be engaged as installers, and the development of indigenous technology”.
He appealed to the prospective beneficiaries of the meter and all customers of the company to protect the integrity of the meters by avoiding tampering and any form of bypass. He also urged customers to cooperate with installers and its personnel in the course of the metering projects.
In their separate remarks, the Chairman of Marks and Adams Limited, Prince Mark Elayo; the Managing Director/CEO of EMCON, Engineer Shehu Karaye and the Executive Vice President/CEO of Holley Metering Nigeria Limited, Mr. Ifeanyi Okeke, promised to justify the confidence reposed in them
They promised to deliver on record time and assured that their meters were of high quality and meet all regulators’ standard both locally and internationally.
This initiative by the Disco could not have come at a more appropriate time given the wide-spread outcry for effective energy accounting and management. It shall also provide the distribution company alternative source of financing for its capital projects, while at the same time supporting indigenous companies to expand their production capacities.
It is expected that the programme when completed shall effectively close the current metering gap of the company.
It will be recalled that in November last year, the company rolled out its mass metering programme in Sokoto, where the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, launched the programme that saw the deployment over of 50,000 smart pre-paid meters in three out of four states that make up the franchise area of the company.