NERC: Electricity Regulatory consumers not mandated to pay for prepaid meters under NMMP

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) says consumers are not mandated to pay for the prepaid meters under the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP).

The commission said this in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday.

Last week, the commission increased the prices of both single-phase and three-phase prepaid electricity meters.

It had said the upward review of meter prices is due to “the recent changes in macro-economic parameters.”

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“We wish to reiterate that the NMMP designed to provide all consumers of electricity with meters is a policy intervention of the Federal Government supported by the Central Bank (CBN) concessionary loans to Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCoS),” the statement reads.

“This laudable initiative is still very much on course as a total of over 900, 000 units of meters have so far been installed under the takeoff scheme without any payment by benefiting consumers.

“While this doesn’t cover many of the unmetered customers, we are pleased to inform electricity consumers that the next phase under which about four million units of meters would be procured from local meter manufacturers has commenced.

“Pending the conclusion of the NMMP, procurement processes and the commencement of manufacturing and installation, consumers may elect to acquire a meter from the Meter Asset Programme (MAP).”

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According to NERC, the regulatory framework approved by the commission under MAP/NMMP Regulation allows for a refund of meter’s cost through energy credits to the customer at the time of vending.

The commission said that the recently issued notice by the commission on the adjusted cost of meter intended to protect consumers from erratic pricing by MAP.