Nigerian Electricity Distributors has said it recorded a total of 4.7 million meter registration in the last quarter of 2021.
Based on data reports by the power company, customer registration exercise stood still at 10 million for the past two years.
Records have it that in 2018, 42 per cent of electricity power users were duly metered. The following year, percentage of customers metered dropped to 40 per cent, Naija News understands.
While the reason for the drop was not explained by the power sector, metered customers maintained a status quo of 40 per cent in 2020.
Statistics from the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors showed in the fourth quarter of 2021, the company recorded 10 million customer registration and 47 per cent metering, Naija News understands.
“At the end of 2021, over 10 million customers are registered, with approximately 47 per cent metered”, the association said in its latest Commercial KPIs for ANED’s members Q4/2021 report.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission quarterly report for the fourth quarter of 2019 stated that as of the fourth quarter of 2019, inadequate metering was a serious challenge in the industry, with only 3,918,322 (37.77 per cent) of the total customer population of 10,374,597 were metered.
It noted that though there was increase in meter registration, with the help of the Federal Government’s National Mass Metering Programme, the number of registered customers, however, remained at 10 million.
Both NERC and ANED, however, could not explain in details why the Discos customers’ registration process remained at 10 million despite over N2tn investments in the sector.
Reacting to the statistic, the spokesperson for Eko Electricity Distribution Company, EKEDC, Godwin Idemudia, argued that he is not in agreement with both NERC and ANED, an umbrella body for the Discos over the registered customers’ records.
According to him, the Discos’ customer base was increasing because more people were building new houses and setting up businesses.
He said, “Our customer population is increasing. Is it in terms of metering or customer base? I sincerely do not agree with that statistic at all.
“Based on the economy, people are building houses and Nigerians are opening up businesses. With that in mind, there is a need to have power connected to such investments. Are we now insinuating that Nigeria has been stagnant for years? It sounds unrealistic as far as I am concerned.
“I am not condemning the source of your information, but I believe we need to look deep into such claims. I do not believe EKEDC specifically provided any data to show we have been stagnant over the years.”
