– Adopts 5 other regulations
OpeOluwani Akintayo
Lagos — In a newly announced Regulation, electricity market regulator, NERC has merged the Meter Asset Provider, MAP with the federal government’s National Mass Metering Programme, NMMP.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC on Monday, said the new development in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry, NESI had necessitated a review of the above regulations to reflect current realities.
According to the Commission, the move, also, is part of its commitment “to close the wide metering gap in NESI as it works with other stakeholders”.
The Commission had last week jacked up prices of meters. In a circular dated November 11, 2021, issued by NERC, price of a single-phase meter was raised from the current cost of N44,896.17 to a revised price of N58,661.69. It also increased the price of a three-phase meter from the current cost of N82,855.19 to a revised rate of N109,684.36.
NERC also adopted five other Regulations such as; Customer Complaints Handling Standard and Procedures Regulations, 2006, Meter Reading, Billing, Cash Collections and Credit Management for Electricity Supplies Regulations, 2007, Customer Service Standard of Performance for Distribution Companies, 2007, Connection and Disconnection Procedures for Electricity Services, 2007, and Methodology for the Determination of Connection Charges for Electricity Supply Regulations 2012.
Prior to introduction of FG’s mass metering programme, the DisCos were able to distribute just a little above 200, 000 meters in the Meter Asset Providers, MAP programme despite privatisation.
Lapses in the MAP programme necessitated intervention by the federal government FG, with first phase of its intervention mass metering programme, recording distribution of 1, 000, 000 meters across the country.