From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
The federal government has assured Nigerians that all electricity meters being installed across the country are in line with the approved metering code.
Minister of State for Power Goddy Jeddy Agba gave the assurance in Enugu during an inspection of the just-concluded South-East zonal office of the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA).
He said as the federal government pushes forward with its mass metering programme, there would be no room for compromises, as appropriate mechanisms have been put in place.
‘I came to see what has been done ahead of the commissioning of the meter testing facility we are going to have here,’ Agba told journalists after the inspection.
‘The meters being imported must meet our standard; if they import the meters our facility here will test to ensure that it meets the standard Nigeria requires before they are installed.
‘We have to be sure that it is not Malaysian standard, but Nigerian standard; I am satisfied with what I have seen and I’m optimistic that it will be commissioned in the next 8 weeks.
‘Our function is to test and make sure that they are okay. The body responsible for installation, the President has given them a mandate and 36 million meters must be installed by the end of June this year; we hope that that committee will meet it.’
Mr Peter Eweso, Managing Director of NEMSA and Chief Electrical Inspector of the Federation, disclosed that the ‘meter test station is established as a quality control mechanism for the power sector.
‘This is to ensure that no metre can be deployed, installed or put into use until it has been tested here and it meets the requirement of Nigerian metering code. The metering code was put in place by the regulator, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, so any metre that has not passed through here cannot be installed.
‘One is to ensure that this meter has never been used anywhere in Nigeria and we have to check it out to ensure that it is not a meter somebody just got to UK, US anywhere and buy from the shelf; this is a meter that has been properly made to meet those specifications in the metering code…’
On when the facility would be put to use, the NEMSA boss said ‘it will be commissioned before the middle of May; this one is pre-inspection in preparation for the commissioning; it has been completed, most of the furniture is there but we are expecting the balance of equipment.’
