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By Chinelo Obogo
The Federal Government has deducted N120 billion from revenue generated in April as the first tranche for the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI). According to the May 2024 disbursement report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), this amount was shared in May.
In May, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu announced that the government would provide an initial N75 billion as seed capital, with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) committing to an annual contribution of N250 billion for the duration of the initiative. The PMI will also leverage debt financing from financial institutions to boost its resources. Victor Ojelabi, Managing Director of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), recently stated that the PMI aims to unlock N1 trillion in revenue tied up in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) due to a significant number of unmetered customers.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) approved N21 billion for the 11 electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) to provide meters to end-use customers at zero cost. This is outlined in ORDER NO: NERC/2024/072 on the Operationalization of “Tranche A” of the Presidential Metering Initiative Under the Framework of Meter Acquisition Fund.
During his presidential campaign, Bola Tinubu pledged to eliminate estimated billing and ensure all Nigerian homes and businesses are equipped with prepaid meters. Despite this promise, the number of customers receiving estimated bills has seen the largest growth rate both quarterly and annually, according to NBS data up to 2022.
Nairametrics reported that the federal government’s plan to eliminate estimated billing by the end of 2024 faces significant challenges, as evidenced by the recent increase in estimated billing customers across Nigeria’s DisCos. The Nigeria Electricity Report by the NBS for Q1 2024 shows a 10% quarter-on-quarter increase in estimated billing customers, with numbers rising from 5.83 million in Q4 2023 to 6.43 million in Q1 2024. Year-on-year, this represents an 8% increase from 5.96 million in Q1 2023.
This rise highlights ongoing issues in the Nigerian electricity sector, particularly the inability to adequately meter all customers, leading to a continued reliance on estimated billing. The government continues to subsidize customers not on Band A, while Band A customers on estimated billing must still pay based on estimation.
