The Minister of Energy, Adebayo Adelabu, has clarified that electrical energy customers who get free pay as you go meters can have as much as 10 years to repay the fee.
Adelabu’s assertion contradicts claims that clients who pay for meters could be refunded by means of vitality credit score.
Talking not too long ago in Ibadan, the minister, who acknowledged that the price of meters had been on the rise, mentioned funding was a significant problem.
In keeping with Adelabu, the Federal Authorities would fund the meter procurement by means of totally different initiatives whereas the shoppers pay again over time.
“We are able to get funding for this meter and permit the shoppers to pay over time.
“When the federal government begins procuring meters, we’ll give it to the shoppers, and we’ll deduct the cash over 10 years. During which case, you’ll not even really feel it in any respect,” he acknowledged.
He defined additional {that a} buyer who purchased an vitality credit score of N5,000 might need N100 deducted for the ‘free’ meter he bought from the federal government.
“In all probability, for those who purchase a credit score of N5,000, possibly N100 will go into the meter that now we have given you. So, that’s what we try to do. We convey these meters in and scale back the hole that now we have within the meters,” he posited.
Adelabu maintained that the Federal Authorities 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 problem. He made me the chairman of this council. The SA on Vitality to Mr President is the secretary of the council. The mandate now we have was to acquire and set up a minimal of two million meters on a yearly foundation over the subsequent 5 years.
“Within the PMI, now we have made good progress in sourcing the fund for this, and it’s going to be by a mix of the federal and state governments. In the present day, now we have obtained, and seen about N100bn fund that may go into the procurement of meters.”
He added that the World Financial institution determined to help Nigeria with the procurement of just about two million meters within the subsequent two years by means of the distribution sector restoration programme.
He disclosed that $200m out of the $500m DISREP fund could be used for meter procurement, saying that had reached a sophisticated stage.
