The Federal Government has announced an increase in the prices of single-phase and three-phase pre-paid electricity meters, and declared that the hike takes effect from September 6, 2023.
It announced this in an order released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and jointly signed by the commission’s Chairman, Sanusi Garba, and its Commissioner, Legal, Licencing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye.
This was, however, kicked against by power consumers, who wondered why the Federal Government had continued to hike the cost of various commodities in Nigeria’s energy sector.
But explaining why it hiked the costs of the meters, the NERC said it was to ensure a fair and reasonable pricing of meters to both Meter Asset Providers and end-use customers.
It said the hike would ensure MAP’s ability to recover reasonable costs associated with meter procurement and maintenance, while ensuring that their pricing structure allowed for a viable return on investment.
It said the approved meter prices were exclusive of Value Added Tax, but noted that they were inclusive of the revised Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency sealing cost. It stated that the sealing cost for a single-phase meter was N842.80 per unit, while that of a three-phase meter was N1,100.80 per unit.
