FG Expresses Concern Over Seven Million Nigerians On Estimated Billing

The Federal Government has raised alarm over the high number of unmetered electricity consumers in Nigeria, revealing that over seven million residents are currently relying on estimated billing.

The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, described this situation as unacceptable and emphasized the government’s commitment to resolving the meter gap.

In a statement issued by his media aide, Tunji Bolaji, on Sunday in Abuja, the minister noted that out of approximately 13 million electricity customers in Nigeria, over half are still without meters.

To this end, he said, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had launched the Presidential Metering Initiative, aiming to install at least 10 million meters over the next five years, with a target of two million annually.

He said: “There is the issue of the meter gap that we have. We all know that out of almost 13 million customers that we have in the industry, over 7 million customers are still without meters and are on estimated billing.

“We said this is not the way to go. We must correct this, which is why President Bola Ahmed Tinubu set up the Presidential Metering Initiative, which has the mandate of installing over 10 million meters within the next five years, at least 2 million meters every year.

“We are making progress on this. The funds are being provided, and we will soon go into the acquisition of these meters. This would reduce the meter gap’’.

Adelabu, however, outlined that significant progress has been made in enhancing the stability of electricity supply across the nation.

He said more than 40% of electricity consumers are currently experiencing over 20 hours of reliable power daily, attributing this improvement to various revolutionary measures undertaken by the ministry.

The minister also explained that the installed capacity has risen to over 14,000 megawatts, bolstered by the recent commissioning of the Zungeru hydroelectric power plant.

He said: “This administration was inaugurated on May 29, 2023. However, ministers were appointed on August 21, 2023. We are just a bit over a year old in office.

“Upon resumption, we had an installed generation capacity of 13,000 megawatts, but we were only producing, transmitting, and distributing about 4,000 megawatts of power to the entire country.

“This was quite low and unacceptable given our population and level of economic activities. Therefore, we were determined to improve the situation.

“At that time, there was an epileptic supply. Almost all customers, both residential and commercial, could not be guaranteed 12-15 hours of supply. Additionally, the adoption of renewable energy was skeletal in terms of solar or wind sources of energy.

“Between then and now, which is about a year, there has been significant improvement. Today, our installed capacity is over 14,000 megawatts of power due to the addition of the newly commissioned Zungeru hydroelectric power plant and the improved capacity of some of the existing power plants.

“Moreover, the major achievement is the fact that today we generate over 5,500 megawatts of power, we transmit and distribute it, and over 40% of customers today enjoy over 20 hours of regular power supply across the nation. You can see that there is a significant improvement between when we came in and now, which we intend to improve further”, he said.