Abuja, April 30, 2024 – The Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said it had deregulated prices of meters deployed under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme with effect from May 1, 2024.
It released an order on the deregulation of meter prices on Monday.
NERC said the development followed requests for further price reviews due to foreign exchange and inflation rate changes.
It said it had established that the capacity of meter providers to supply meters at the authorised, regulated cost had been limited due to the notable fluctuations in these macroeconomic indicators.
“The commission has noted the need for the efficient pricing of meters to respond more quickly to changes in macroeconomic parameters, particularly exchange rates.
“The commission has further taken cognisance of the constraints/challenges faced by MAPs and LMMAs and, therefore, approved the deregulation of prices of meters deployed under the MAP scheme with effect from May 1, 2024.
It said all meter costs under the MAP programme would be set via a competitive bidding procedure starting on the specified date, giving customers a choice of approved vendors.
“The cost of prices of meters deployed under the MAP scheme is hereby deregulated to enable end-use customers acquire meters from MAPs of their choice based on competitive open market prices determined from transparent bidding frameworks,” the commission stated.
“All MAP permit holders are henceforth eligible to provide services and transact for the provision of meters and metering services with any Disco in the Federal Republic of Nigeria with their existing permit.
“The lifting of the restriction on permitting to operate in all Discos is subject to the mandatory requirement for MAPs to comply with the associated Disco specific requirements/specifications.” (GBN)
