N37bn grant for meter supply to DisCos
News & Trends •
fashola who earlier commissioned a 60mva transformer at the zaria 132 kv substation to increase the transformer capacity from 140 mva to 200 mva said the transformer would improve service to customers of kaduna disco1 the federal government says it has taken advantage of the new meter asset provider map regulations to give a grant of n37billion to a private sector operator to supply meters to interested distribution companies discos1 the meeting hosted by kaduna electricity distribution company at the mando transmission substation had in attendance representatives of government power agencies and private operators across the value chain of generation transmission and distribution1 the minister who did not mention the name of the company said the federal government provided the fund based on the demand for meters given the increasing power generation transmission and distribution in the country1 he said as power supply continues to increase in generation transmission and distribution the demand for meters will increase because more power supply and consumption will likely result in increased bills1 estimated billings in these circumstances will become a major cause of distrust and conflict between consumers and discos and meters are the easiest way to build the bridge of trust1 on the executive side of government we are responding by taking advantage of the meter asset provider map regulations to deploy a fund of n37 billion toward supplying meters through private sector1 i urge all discos who have not taken advantage of this opportunity to quickly do so or make their own funding arrangements to contract their own meter providers to supply and install meters1 i know that yola disco is talking to the meter asset provider for 400 000 meters. i know that abuja disco is also indicating interest for 250000 meters1 i know that other meter asset providers are also talking to various banks and funding organisations to see how they can get into this business and get licensed by nerc1 he also said there was a clear intension of the legislative arm of government toward addressing the issue of meter in the sector1 the minister said it was important for all discos to respond by providing meters and quickly end estimated billing which was subjective discretionary and prone to abuse1 he reiterated governments commitment to better service delivery by improving infrastructure as mandated by president muhammadu buhari1 minister of power works and housing mr babatunde fashola disclosed this at the 28th monthly meeting of power stakeholders in kaduna1 he listed some of the areas to benefit from the new transformer to include zaria city sabon gari samaru giwa yakawada tudun wada and markafi1 he said the commissioning of another 2 x 60 mva transformer at the 132 kv sub-station would improve the capacity of the substation from 190 mva to 240 mva1 this he said would further improve supply to areas like kaduna township rigasa kakuri rigachukwu chikun sabon tasha among others1 the minister emphasised the need for operators across the value chain to make service delivery to customers their focus1 i have used the opportunity of this meeting to focus the attention of gencos transmission company and discos on the need to pay more attention to service delivery repairs and maintenance of equipment1 my focus in this meeting will not be different we are beginning a different weather season that will see more rainfall thunderstorms lightening and windstorms1 all of these will affect regular supply one way or another trees will fall and disrupt lines poles and lines may be damaged and service will be disrupted1 in all these situations we must prepare our staff to anticipate plan and respond said the minister1 according to him it is very important for the operators to always notify their customers in the event of any disruption of service1 most importantly we must inform the public about the problems and what we are doing to restore service whenever there are disruptions fashola said1 earlier the managing director of kaduna disco mr garuba haruna said the disco was recording a minimum of 10 hours to 15 hours supply to consumers in kaduna kebbi zamfara and sokoto states1 he also said some areas under its control were experiencing 24 hours of electricity supply1