Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu has announced a new plan allowing electricity consumers to spread the cost of prepaid meters over a decade, aiming to ease the financial burden on households.
This move challenges earlier claims that customers paying for meters would receive refunds through energy credits.
Speaking in Ibadan, Adelabu acknowledged the rising cost of meters and highlighted funding challenges. He outlined the government’s strategy to procure meters through various initiatives, with consumers repaying the cost gradually.
“We will secure funding to procure these meters and allow customers to pay in small increments over 10 years,” Adelabu explained. “This approach will make the cost barely noticeable to consumers.”
He illustrated how the repayment plan might work, suggesting that if a customer buys N5,000 worth of energy credit, about N100 could be deducted towards the meter cost.
Adelabu also revealed that the Federal Government and state governments had jointly raised N100 billion for the purchase of prepaid meters. Under the Presidential Meter Initiative (PMI), chaired by Adelabu, the government aims to install at least 2 million meters annually over the next five years.
Furthermore, Adelabu mentioned that the World Bank has committed to supporting Nigeria’s meter procurement efforts through the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), earmarking $200 million of a $500 million fund for this purpose. This initiative aims to bridge the metering gap and provide more households with accurate billing.
