Prepaid meters: Electricity customers can now get them and pay later – NERC

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said as from August 2019, electricity customers will be allowed to get prepaid meters and pay later. The disclosure was made on Thursday, July 18, by NERC’s commissioner for finance and management services, Nathan Shatti. The Cable reports that Mr. Nathan Shatti said that the customers can either pay upfront or in installments within a period of one to 10 years.

According to Shatti, the commission approved a total of 42-meter service providers in April under the Meter Asset Providers (MAPs) scheme. Permits were issued by the regulators to the firms to begin the rollout of new meters by May 1. Shatti said: “Although the installations did not commence immediately across the country as anticipated, due to the need to finalize some documentations and also mobilize the supply of meters. “I am happy to report that the installations of meters have now commenced across various DisCo franchise areas. “Currently, we have asked or encouraged the MAPs to concentrate on the upfront payment for obvious reasons. The payment by installment is scheduled to commence on August 1, 2019.” According to Nathan Shatti, repayment for the cost of the meter services will be done monthly through metering service charge while vending. He added: “Discos have the responsibility to make the areas for meter deployment-ready in line with MAP regulation and the planned roll-out.” “MAPs will then determine the type of meter the customer needs and the customer will decide how long (the period) he/she plans to pay for the metering services. “After confirming the type of meter and period of repayment, the MAP will install meters across the whole area in an organized and systematic manner – no exception, all customers without meters in those areas must be metered by the MAP).”