The Minister of Energy, Adebayo Adelabu, has clarified that electrical energy shoppers who get detached pay as you go meters could have as much as 10 years to pay off the associated fee.
Adelabu’s commentary contradicts claims that buyers who pay for meters can be refunded via power credit score.
Talking just lately in Ibadan, the minister, who stated that the price of meters have been at the building up, mentioned investment used to be a big problem.
In keeping with Adelabu, the Federal Govt would investmrent the meter procurement via other projects moment the shoppers pay again over moment.
“We will be able to get investment for this meter and make allowance the shoppers to pay over moment.
“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,” he mentioned.
He defined additional {that a} buyer who purchased an power credit score of N5,000 may have N100 deducted for the ‘free’ meter he were given from the federal government.
“Probably, if you buy a credit of N5,000, maybe N100 will go into the meter that we have given you. 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 posited.
Adelabu maintained that the Federal Govt and the states had raised N100bn for the procurement of pay as you go electrical energy meters.
He defined, “Mr President has arrange what we name the Presidential Meter Initiative and arrange a Presidential Assembly Council to deal with this factor. He made me the chairman of this council. The SA on Power to Mr President is the secretary of the council. The mandate we now have used to be to obtain and set up at least 2 million meters on a annually foundation over the nearest 5 years.
“In the PMI, we have made good progress in sourcing the fund for this, and it is going to be by a combination of the federal and state governments. Today, we have received, and seen about N100bn fund that will go into the procurement of meters.”
He added that the International Storehouse determined to aid Nigeria with the procurement of virtually two million meters within the nearest two years throughout the distribution sector fix programme.
He disclosed that $200m out of the $500m DISREP investmrent can be worn for meter procurement, pronouncing that had reached a sophisticated degree.