The cost of
acquiring pre-paid electricity meters by consumers in the country has risen due
to the fall in the value of the naira following the currency’s recent
devaluation by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
A single-phase
meter, according to findings by our correspondent, can now be obtained for
N39,375, while the three-phase meter now goes for N60,909.
Before now, the
single-phase and three-phase meters were selling for N25,000 and N50,000.
However, with the latest
development, the cost of the single-phase meter has risen by 56 per cent, while
that of the three-phase meter has jumped by 20 per cent.
This means that
household electricity consumers, who are majorly the users of single-phase
meters, will pay more for the devices in relative terms compared to the users
of the three-phase meters.
Our correspondent
gathered that the price increase was because most of the meters in the Nigerian
electricity market were imported and that the rising exchange rate of the naira
to the United States dollar was posing a huge problem to importers of the
product.
For companies
assembling the different components of the meters locally, the challenge is the
same because foreign exchange is needed to import the components.
Confirming the
current cost of the meters, the spokesperson for the Eko Electricity
Distribution Company, Mr. Godwin Idemudia, said, “The single-phase smart meter
is N39,375, while three-phase meter is N60,901,” adding that the company was no
longer installing ordinary prepaid meters.
The spokesperson
for the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, Mr. Pekun Adeyanju, told our
correspondent in a telephone interview that the company had not commenced its
metering programme yet; but was looking at starting it on or before May.
He said the
company was taking its time to ensure that the meters it would introduce to
customers met global standard and could stand the test of time.
He, however, urged
customers to be patient with the firm.
The Managing
Director/Chief Executive Officer, Powercap Limited, Mr. Biodun Ogunleye, told
our correspondent in a telephone interview that because Nigeria was largely a
foreign currency regulated economy, the devaluation of the naira would affect
imported commodities, electricity meters inclusive.
With the realities
on the ground, he said there was no way the pricing of the meters would not be
altered.
Ogunleye said, “A
lot of inputs have to be imported, and ultimately, those inputs will be passed
onto the consumers at the cost plus margins. As a result, the costs of bringing
in meters will go up; and there is nothing anybody can do about it.
“It is a priority
that must be implemented because the people who are operating in the market
will be interested in maximising their revenue. They will not want to encourage
any form of income leakages.”
He said by this,
whatever pricing the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission had fixed would
be revisited because it had a little choice as far as granting a review was
concerned.
The Powercap boss
added, “We have one or two local plants that can produce meters. The high
foreign exchange may prompt the government to intervene, and thus make the
business more profitable.
“But bear in mind
that when it comes to meters like many other electronics, the specification and
a couple of other factors between the distribution companies and the meter
manufacturers must be adhered in order to drive patronage.”
He said EKEDC was
looking at installing prepaid meters that could be monitored from its offices,
adding that the move was targeted at ensuring that communication was enhanced
between it and the meters, notwithstanding where they were installed.
A text message
sent by our correspondent to the Chairman, NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, to confirm the
position of the agency on the matter was not responded to as of the time of
going to press, just as a call to his mobile telephone line indicated that it
was switched off.
However, the Chief
Executive Officer, EKEDC, Mr. Oladele Amoda, during the company’s first quarter
meeting with the media on Monday, said it was looking at investing $20m in
providing meters to residential users as well as other smaller consumers of
electricity.
For its key
customer group, he said about $15m would be committed to meter provision,
promising that over 300,000 meters would be installed by the end of the
metering programme.
Punch
Electricity meters now sell for N60,000
Reviewed by Unknown
on
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
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