Discos To End Estimated Billing

BEVERLY HILLS, April 12, (THEWILL) – Electricity distribution companies (Discos) operating in Nigeria have unveiled plans for metering their customers to bring an end to estimated billing of customers in the power sector.

This new metering commitment was reached at the end of the fourth monthly meeting of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, with operators in the power sector, at the Calabar power plant, Odukpani, Cross River State.

Eko, Kano, Kaduna and Jos Discos confirmed plans to aggressively deploy recently procured metering starting in May 2016 while Abuja Disco planned to meter 100,000 households by the end of the year, as the Port Harcourt Disco assured it would install 110,000 by the end of the year.

Louis Edozien, Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Power, chaired the meeting, in place of Fashola which was attended by operators in the power sector at the highest executive management level, including managing directors and CEOs of Gencos, Discos and The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

Also, various government agencies such as the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader (NBET), Gas Aggregating Company of Nigeria (GACN), the Nigerian Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO), NERC and Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency NEMSA were represented.

The meeting was in furtherance of identifying, discussing and finding practical solutions to issues militating against the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) as operators reached a unanimous resolution in support of strong sanctions against power sector operators who fail to act on decisions agreed upon at the meeting.

It was also resolved that Port Harcourt Disco and the Calabar and Ibom Power Plants should proceed with their bilaterally negotiated agreement to supply stranded energy in the two power plants, beginning with a supply of 150mw to 250 mw.

The activation of the agreement between Paras Energy and Eko Disco to provide 40mw of energy to the Lagos and the agreement between Ikeja and Eko discos with Egbin power plant for dedicated power supply totaling 220mw was announced.

Story by David Oputah