Taiwo Hassan 
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has disclosed that it is time the Federal Government to stay on course with the reforms in the power sector, especially the metering targets that were earlier set.
The advice follows a report by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), revealing that meter installation by electricity distribution companies declined by as much as 60.86 per cent in the second quarter of 2024.
Specifically, the LCCI urged NERC to create a conducive regulatory environment for the electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to utilise a mix of all the meter financing frameworks outlined in the 2021 Meter Asset Provider (MAP) and National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP).
The Director-General of LCCI, Dr. Chinyere Almona, made this known in Lagos, yesterday. She said that the Lagos Chamber was worried about declining metering installation at this period, saying it was not in tandem with reform policy in the country’s power sector.
According to her, “NERC, in its second quarter 2024 report, revealed that meter installation by electricity distribution companies declined by as much as 60.86 per cent in the second quarter of 2024.
“The report further said that only 49,188 meters were installed during the period, making a 60.86 per cent decline from the 125,664 meters installed in the first quarter.
“We urge the government to stay on course with the reforms in the power sector, especially the metering targets that were earlier set. “We call on NERC to create a conducive regulatory environment for the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) to utilise a mix of all the meter financing frameworks outlined in the 2021 Meter Asset Provider (MAP) and National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP).”
Almona continued: “Looking at the opportunities available from a stable national grid, we see the benefits to businesses in Nigeria in terms of lowering the cost of production, which will also make Nigerian products more competitive in the international markets.
“A stable power supply can also make us earn more foreign exchange earnings from supplying electricity to neighboring countries.” The LCCI DG stated that the 2023 Annual Report of NERC showed that international bilateral customers from countries such as Niger, Benin, and Togo made a total payment of $50.36 million to the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) for electricity distribution in 2023.
“We acknowledge the ongoing efforts and reforms in the power sector and expect the government to stay focused on delivering on them quickly. With businesses suffering from the burden of poor power supply, we need quick intervention actions to salvage the situation.
“We urge the government to consider the privatisation of the national grid and support more efforts to scale up metering in the coming months,” she asserted, noting that, “in finding a lasting solution to the perennial poor power supply and the recurring collapse of our national grid, the government should create the needed conducive regulatory environment, extend concessionary credit to operators in that sector, offer import waivers, and collaborate with the private sector to work together in policy formulation and implementation.”
