The Federal Government has taken delivery of 656,752 prepaid meters, under the phase 0 of the Central Bank of Nigeria-funded National Mass Metering Programme, NMMP. This represents almost 85 percent of the one million meters to be provided to Nigerians, whose bills are still based on estimation.
However, of the 656,752 prepaid meters, 305,962 have already been installed for consumers, according to the Special Adviser to the President on Infrastructure, Mr. Ahmad Zakari. In an interview at the weekend, he said: “The major problem faced by the indigenous producers and Meter Asset Providers, MAPs is the pace of ramp-up of available personnel for installation. Another problem is the lack of a vital plastic component as one of the two major global suppliers (based in Germany) had shut down during the Coronavirus pandemic, resulting in pressure to the value chain.
“However, disbursement has been made for 656,752 meters, with the Discos already in receipt of almost 85% of the funded meters. Based on the current trend, all Phase 0 installations should be completed by the end of June, 2021.” According to him, the nation would start its phase one and later phase two of the NMMP.