The cost of a single-phase electricity meter in Nigeria has surged to over N130,000, up from N88,000 in the first quarter of this year, raising concerns among consumers.
This marks the second time in 2024 that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has sanctioned an increase in prepaid meter prices.
According to The PUNCH, the price range for a single-phase meter now fluctuates between N130,000 and N139,000, while a three-phase meter costs between N219,000 and N229,000, depending on the vendor.
Additionally, single-phase smart meters have risen to N106,802.69, and three-phase smart meters have increased from N154,600 in May to N210,751.61.
Many consumers who are yet to be metered continue to voice their frustrations over high estimated bills from their Electricity Distribution Companies.
Those on direct connection report receiving monthly estimated bills that seem inconsistent with their actual energy usage.
ThebCEO of Femadec Group, Fola Akinola, explained that meter application portals were shut in April as vendors and DisCos adjusted prices to align with current economic conditions.
He attributed this to the exchange rate fluctuation, stating, “In a situation where you fixed the price of meters when $1 was around N500, and now that $1 is over N1,300, you cannot sell the ones you have because you will not be able to replace them. People cannot bring in meters because of the exchange rate.”
Executive Director of the Electricity Consumers Protection and Advocacy Centre, Princewill Okorie, criticized NERC for approving another price hike amid ongoing struggles with Band A tariff increases.
Okorie questioned the effectiveness of the Meter Asset Providers policy, which stipulates that consumers should receive energy credit as a refund for their meter payments. He asked, “How many consumers have been paid back?”
In response to the recent price increase, Okorie lamented, “Why will this sector be only about collecting money from the consumers without service delivery, transparency and accountability? This is because nobody punishes or monitors the Discos. It still boils down to the consumer aspect of the sector not being taken seriously.”
The Federal Government had previously approved N21 billion under the Presidential Metering Initiative to provide meters to unmetered customers at no cost. Consumers are questioning how this fund was utilized.
An anonymous NERC official clarified that customers should not have to pay for meters under this initiative, and those who paid should be reimbursed through energy credits.
However, the official added, “Those people are supposed to be refunded by the DisCos through energy credit and the commission is following up on the compliance.”
The initiative’s meters are reportedly intended for Band A customers initially, with plans to extend to other customer classes later.
Despite these efforts, there remains a significant metering gap, with seven million out of 13 million electricity customers still unmetered.
ThevExecutive Director of Research and Advocacy at the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, Sunday Oduntan, noted that the meter policy has changed, stating that DisCos no longer control meter sales.
In the southwestern part of Nigeria, customers have expressed dissatisfaction with the billing practices of Eko Electricity Distribution Company and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company.
EKEDC customer Christina Monyeh reported a drastic increase in her bills, from N394,286.03 in July 2023 to over N1 million in subsequent months.
Monyeh said, “The crazy billing started in July when we were billed N394,286.03, it increased to N650,285.04 in December 2023 and it went on like that. To our surprise, they brought a bill of N1,134,129.05 in January, N1,350,727.55 in February and N746,945,00 in July.”
Another EKEDC customer, who had previously used a prepaid meter, was switched to direct billing after officials claimed the meter was “stagnant.” The customer suspects this change was a tactic to avoid providing a new meter due to the high bills.
In Osogbo, IBEDC customer Ismail Kolapo was shocked by a N700,000 bill, despite having no significant energy usage.
He recounted, “IBEDC’s bill is choking and unpayable because I don’t know why they would give us N700,000 bill for when we didn’t have a cold room.”
IBEDC spokesperson Busolami Tunwase defended the company, stating that prices are not controlled by the company and that a capping policy ensures customers are not billed beyond their actual usage.
Meanwhile, EKEDC’s Babatunde Lasaki assured that no customers are billed arbitrarily and emphasized that access to prepaid meters is guaranteed for all customers.
