FG grants a year waiver on importation of electricity meters

Chinazor Megbolu   |  

The Federal Government of Nigeria has granted a year waiver on levies for the importation of electricity meters.

The government said the new regulation is in line with its readiness to support the country’s electricity reforms.

The nation’s President,  Muhammadu Buhari approved the one-year waiver of import levy on electricity meters to help improve Nigeria’s electricity meter deficit.

The media aide to the Presidency, Tolu Ogunlesi, disclosed this through the official Tweeter handle,  @NGRPresident, noted that the import levy is a big deal in Nigeria’s electricity industry with regards to the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) Regulation of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in 2018.

He maintained that NERC also ordered a cap on how much DisCos can charge unmetered consumers, as part of efforts to tackle ‘estimated’ billing.

Ogunlesi pointed out the new regulation would be in line with federal government’s commitment to support Nigeria’s electricity reforms and the NERC’s Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme. 

“In 2020, Nigeria’s electricity metering deficit rose to 6.75 million, from 4.5 million in 2015,” the Presidency said.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director in charge of Research and Advocacy at the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Mr. Sunday Oduntan, however, noted the funding would help ensure that all electricity customers were adequately metered under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) regulation.