Ibadan, Nigeria—The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has provided clarity on the repayment terms for electricity consumers who receive free prepaid meters, stating that customers will have up to 10 years to repay the cost of the meters. This clarification comes in response to recent claims suggesting that customers who pay for meters would be reimbursed through energy credit.
Speaking recently in Ibadan, Adelabu acknowledged the rising cost of meters and highlighted that funding remains a significant challenge in the metering process. He explained that the Federal Government plans to finance meter procurement through various initiatives, allowing customers to repay the cost gradually over a decade.
“We can get funding for this meter and allow the customers to pay over time,” Adelabu said. “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.”
To further elaborate, Adelabu noted that if a customer purchases energy credit worth N5,000, a small amount, such as N100, could be deducted towards the cost of the meter provided by the government. “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 added.
The Minister also disclosed that the Federal Government and various states have raised N100 billion for the procurement of prepaid electricity meters. He emphasized that this initiative is part of the Presidential Meter Initiative (PMI), established by President Bola Tinubu to address the metering deficit in the country.
“Mr President has set up what we call the Presidential Meter Initiative and set up a Presidential Meeting Council to address this issue. He made me the chairman of this council. The SA on Energy to Mr President is the secretary of the council. The mandate we have was to procure and install a minimum of 2 million meters on a yearly basis over the next five years,” Adelabu explained.
Adelabu further revealed that the World Bank is supporting Nigeria with the procurement of nearly two million meters over the next two years through the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP). He noted that $200 million out of the $500 million DISREP fund would be allocated for meter procurement, with the process now at an advanced stage.
This initiative aims to significantly reduce the metering gap across the country, ensuring more Nigerians have access to accurate billing and electricity services.