Power Punch Bridging the Metering Gap Through Customer Sensitisation by doose February 27, 2023 written by doose The Nigerian energy sector strives to provide dependable electricity for its people through various initiatives and policies. One of these is a metering system that promotes transparency and accountability in billing. Unfortunately, meter adoption remains low. Therefore, bridging the metering gap through customer sensitisation is essential. According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) quarterly report for June 2022, the registered electricity customer population stands at 12.64 million. Out of this population, only 4.89 million customers, which is 38.7 per cent, are metered. This leaves an unmetered population of 7.78 million customers and a metering gap of 62.3 per cent. Metering is an essential component of the power sector value chain. It enables accurate billing, facilitates energy conservation, and generates revenue for power distribution companies (DisCos). However, inadequate metering continues to hinder the success of power sector reforms in Nigeria. Some consumers evade payment by bypassing their meters, while others face overcharging through estimated billing, favouring the DisCos. To address this challenge, the Nigerian government has implemented various initiatives to accelerate the deployment of meters across the country. These initiatives include the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme and the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP). The MAP scheme aims to facilitate the deployment of meters through third-party companies, while the NMMP works in collaboration with local meter manufacturers to provide smart prepaid meters to all unmetered customers. While these programmes have had some success, they have not achieved the desired levels of meter deployment. A contributing factor to this is the lack of customer awareness and participation. As a result, the government’s goal of closing the metering gap by 2023 seems unattainable at this time. DisCos must develop and deploy stakeholder engagement and communications strategies to support bridging the metering gap through customer sensitisation. These strategies should ensure customers are aware and supportive of the metering initiative. A lack of education on the benefits of metering is one of the drivers of low adoption rates of meters. Thus, sensitisation campaigns to educate customers on the benefits of metering, the meter installation process, and the demonstration of the meters’ integrity and the customers’ role in the metering process can go a long way in driving adoption rates. Similarly, in South Africa, the government launched the “Operation Khanyisa” programme to encourage households to install prepaid electricity meters. The programme involves a sensitisation campaign to educate citizens about the benefits of prepaid meters, including reducing electricity theft and promoting energy conservation. The Nigerian government can replicate such programmes in Nigeria to accelerate metering. Community outreach programmes are one of the most effective ways of sensitising customers to the benefits of metering. These programmes involve directly engaging customers in their communities to educate them on the importance of metering and participating in the meter installation process. Community outreach programmes can also allow customers to ask questions and seek clarification on any issues related to metering. Additionally, social media is an effective tool for customer sensitisation, particularly in Nigeria, where social media platforms are widely used and can reach a broad audience. DisCos can leverage these platforms to educate customers on the benefits of metering and provide regular updates on metering programmes and initiatives. Bridging the metering gap through customer sensitisation is crucial for achieving Nigeria’s reliable and sustainable power sector. DisCos and other electricity industry stakeholders must collaborate to develop inclusive sensitisation programmes that target all population segments. Effective customer awareness and engagement can lead to a transparent and accountable billing process, increased DisCo revenue, and improved access to reliable and affordable electricity for households and businesses. February 27, 2023 0 comment 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Power Punch The NESI’s Metering Conundrum by aisi August 2, 2022 written by aisi The sub-sectors in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), generation, transmission and distribution, face peculiar challenges that impede adequate power supply to consumers and deepen the liquidity crisis. Among these challenges, the NESI’s metering conundrum is of great concern. Since the 2013 privatisation of the sector, the electricity metering gap has done nothing but grow. For this reason, most electricity customers pay for tariffs according to their distribution companies’ estimated billing procedures (DisCos). However, the estimated billing procedures consistently lack transparency and room for accountability. And because customers cannot adequately prove that the amount they pay is equivalent to the electricity supply, it reduces their willingness to pay bills. Therefore, the DisCos’ collection rates decrease, and the liquidity crisis worsens. However, post-privatisation, the Nigerian power sector has experienced the implementation of different metering schemes. In 2015, the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) introduced the Credited Advanced Payment for Metering Implementation (CAPMI) scheme. Although unsuccessful, CAPMI aimed to provide meters to customers willing to pay, while their DisCos refunded the cost in cash or equivalent energy units. After the failure of CAPMI, NERC introduced the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme in 2018. The MAP scheme sought to empower meter asset providers to finance, procure and install meters for electricity customers in the country. The cost of the meters was to be recovered through a Metering Service Charge billed to the customers as part of their tariffs. Unfortunately, this metering scheme has not been as successful as expected. To further address the NESI’s metering conundrum, the federal government launched the first phase (Phase 0) of the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) on the 30th of October 2020 with a loan from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The programme’s first phase aimed to disburse a million meters to electricity consumers; however, only about 980,000 meters were disbursed. Although the goal for the first phase wasn’t reached, the NMMP is already thought to be better than the MAP, which installed 350,000 meters in over eighteen months. The NERC Commissioner for Finance and Management Services, Mr Nathan Shatti, recently announced that the second phase (Phase 1) of the NMMP would commence in August 2022. The Regulator further stated that 45 local meter manufacturers are bidding to be part of this second phase. Shatti said: Our target is to install four million meters for customers. From our experience in phase zero, we want to make sure that the manufacturers can deliver before allocation is made. However, due to allegations of fraud by the CBN against some Meter Asset Providers (MAPs), the second phase of the NMMP seems to have been put on hold. So far, the CBN has provided over ₦60 billion in intervention funds to address the NESI’s metering challenges. However, despite these interventions, the NESI’s metering conundrum remains a massive bottleneck. In their latest Commercial KPIs Q4/2021 report, the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) reported that of the 10 million electricity customers in the country, only 4.7 million are metered, which leaves 5.3 million unmetered registered customers. At the end of 2021, over 10 million customers are registered, with approximately 47 per cent metered. However, data obtained from NERC shows that there are 12.78 million registered electricity customers in the country. The NERC data also shows that the value for metered customers drops to 37.3 per cent, with unmetered customers being 62.7 per cent. These disparities in data beg the importance of a system that adequately enumerates electricity customers and the progress of metering schemes as they move forward. Also, how can the CBN ensure that metering intervention funds are adequately utilised, and the NMMP does not fail? These critical questions must be overcome for any effort at addressing the NESI’s metering conundrum to be productive. August 2, 2022 0 comment 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
