- says gap still exceeds 7million
By Onu Okorie
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory
Commission NERC has disclosed that despite the different significant interventions made to meter customers in the Nigerian electricity market, the national metering gap persists and currently exceeds seven million.
This was disclosed yesterday in a statement made available to the media in Abuja. The MAF was designed to offset the impact of DisCos’ limited creditworthiness on metering deployment across NESI.
In order to meet up with the continuous metering challenge, NERC said that the Commission has further approved the deployment of the sum of Twenty-Eight Billion Naira for Tranche B of the MAF Scheme.
It will be recalled that Commission introduced the Meter Asset Provider “MAP” Regulations 2018 and subsequently, the Meter Asset Provider and National Mass Metering Regulations “MAP&NMMR” in 2021 to address metering challenges in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry “NESI”.
A key constraint identified is the inability of Distribution Companies “DisCos” to secure financing, whether through debt or additional equity, for the acquisition and deployment of end-use meters and other critical capital investments.
To mitigate this challenge, the Commission developed and approved the Meter Acquisition Fund “MAF” or the “Fund”.
The Fund establishes a credible revenue stream from market collections, which can serve as leverage for utilities to secure long-term financing. The Fund is managed by a Fund Manager “FM” under terms and conditions negotiated by the DisCos and approved by the Commission.
The deployment of funds under the MAF scheme is intended to accelerate meter roll-out and close the existing metering gap, reduce commercial and collection losses for DisCos, enhance service quality, and improve customer satisfaction.
They however, explained that the funds shall be allocated in proportion to the respective contributions of the DisCos, and are intended to meter all outstanding unmetered Band A customers while also expediting the closure of the metering gap for customers currently classified under Tariff Band B. Schedule 1 provide the detailed breakdown of the funds available to each DisCo for the purchase of end-use customer meters.
“All the meters to be procured and installed under the MAF framework shall be provided at no cost to the customers.”
In parallel, the Federal Government of Nigeria approved the Presidential Metering Initiative “PMI” with the overarching objective of closing the metering gap in NESI, leveraging smart metering technologies for data analytics. Under this framework, the MAF shall serve as one of the revenue streams for the repayment of the long-term financing required for metering.
While the NESI is expected to mobilise significant capital investment for metering through the revenue streams created under the MAF framework, there is an urgent and compelling need to accelerate the closure of the metering gap for all customers currently classified under Tariff.
Band A to safeguard revenue protection and enable effective demand-side management. As of the April 2024 market settlement cycle, the sum of NGN 21,864,851,725 (Twenty-One Billion, Eight Hundred and Sixty-Four Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty-One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Twenty-Five Naira only) had accrued and was made available for the procurement of meters under the first tranche of the MAF scheme.
The Commission approved the use of the sum of NGN21,000,000,000 Twenty-One Billion Naira) only from the accrued amount apportioned pro-rata to the contributions of the DisCos, for the procurement and installation of meters under Tranche A of the MAF scheme, which concluded on 30 June 2025.
The MAF Order will establish a clear and transparent framework for the implementation of Tranche B of the MAF scheme; define the eligibility requirements and obligations of DisCos and MAPs in accessing and utilising funds under Tranche B and prescribe the terms of financing, repayment, and utilisation of funds under the scheme.
Also it will set out the monitoring, reporting and evaluation requirements to ensure accountability, efficiency and transparency in the deployment of MAF- funded meters; provide operational guidelines and conditions applicable to participating entities to safeguard the integrity of the MAF scheme. The Distribution Companies shall , provide an Application Programming Interface (“API”) for integrating to the IT platform provided by the FM allowing access to real-time data and a confirmation of the activation of all meters installed under the MAF scheme, ensure completion of accurate Know-Your-Customer “KYC” documentation; confirm the readiness of the premises for metering of all customer locations where MAF meters are to be deployed.
Also Meter Asset Providers shall, Provide evidence of a Memorandum of Understanding “MoU” with a local meter manufacturer or assembler “LMMA” for the fulfilment of a minimum 30% local content threshold. Upon securing orders for meters from DisCos, eligible MAPs shall submit evidence in support of the fulfilment of the minimum threshold of 30% local content; hold a valid MAP Permit issued by the Commission. And submit details of proposed meter installers with valid NERC certification as a Meter Service Provider “MSP” for the installation of meters.
