Nigeria: Electricity consumers to repay free meters cost over 10 years

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The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has clarified that electricity consumers who receive free prepaid meters will have up to 10 years to repay the cost.

This clarification comes in response to earlier claims suggesting that customers who pay for meters would be refunded through energy credit.

Speaking recently in Ibadan, Adelabu acknowledged the rising cost of meters and identified funding as a major challenge.

He explained that the Federal Government would secure funding for meter procurement through various initiatives, with the repayment spread over time by the consumers.

“We can get funding for this meter and allow the customers to pay over time. When the government starts procuring meters, we’ll give it to the customers, and we’ll deduct the money over 10 years. In which case, you will not even feel it at all,” Adelabu stated.

He further illustrated the repayment mechanism, noting that a small portion of a customer’s energy credit purchase would go towards the cost of the meter.

“Probably, if you buy a credit of N5,000, maybe N100 will go into the meter that we have given you. So, that’s what we are trying to do. We bring these meters in and reduce the gap that we have in the meters,” he explained.

Adelabu also highlighted that the Federal and state governments had collectively raised N100 billion for the procurement of prepaid electricity meters.

He mentioned that this initiative is part of the Presidential Meter Initiative (PMI), which aims to procure and install at least 2 million meters annually over the next five years.

The PMI, chaired by Adelabu, is making progress in securing the necessary funds, with the support of the World Bank and the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP).

The minister disclosed that $200 million out of the $500 million DISREP fund would be allocated for meter procurement, with the process already in an advanced stage.