Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, Eko Electricity Distribution Company, Ikeja Electric, BEDC Electricity and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company emerged as the best-performing DisCos by metering as of March 2022, a new report from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has shown.
According to NERC, the 11 DisCos in the country added 85,510 new metered customers in the period, representing a 6.92 percent increase, compared to the 79,978 meters installed in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Cumulatively, the number of metered customers rose to 4.74 million, out of the 12.54 million customers registered for metering, signifying a 37.79 percent metering performance in the period.
Here is a breakdown of how each DisCo performed.
Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) topped the list with the highest metering performance of 59.92 percent. According to the regulator, AEDC metered 675,098 customers out of 1,126,682 registered customers as at March 2022.
AEDC recorded a 74.30 percent decline in meter deployment, compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.
Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) recorded the second-best performance with 54.7 percent. The DisCo has metered 353,232 customers out of 646,023 registered customers. It recorded a 78.62 percent decline in its metering between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022.
Ikeja Electric (IE) recorded a 49.8 percent metering performance in the first quarter of 2022. Out of 1,298,323 registered customers, IE has metered 645,862 customers.
In a bid to meet up with metering demands, the DisCo has continued the Meter Asset Providers (MAP) initiative. It also launched a metering academy and has trained 140 employees to boost metering density and meter management across its network.
BEDC Electricity Plc recorded a 38 percent metering performance as of Q1 2022. Out of 1,652,722 registered customers, the DisCo has metered 627,764.
Based on the MAP and National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP), the DisCo recorded a decline of 69.70 percent between Q4 2021 and Q1 2022. The regulator said the decline was on the back of early utilisation of their meter allocation under the NMMP.
Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), which has the highest number of customers, came fifth with 37.8 percent metering performance. Out of 2,121,325 registered customers, 800,888 customers have been metered.
The DisCo metered 30,404 customers in Q1 2022, representing 121.91 percent or 16,703 increment compared to the number of customers metered in Q4 2021.
NERC said IBEDC recorded the highest number of installations (19,438), representing 34.57 percent of the total number of customers metered under the MAP scheme in Q1 2022.
Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company Plc (PHEDC) recorded 35.2 percent metering performance as of Q1 2022. PHEDC has metered 414,951 customers out of 1,177,641 registered customers in the period.
Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc (EEDC) recorded a 33.13 percent metering performance in the Q1 2022. EEDC has metered 551,703 customers out of 1,665,264 registered customers.
Just like Ikeja, Kano, Port Harcourt, and Yola DisCos, EEDC did not record any meter installation under the NMMP scheme in Q1 2022.
Jos Electricity Distribution Company Plc (JEDC) saw its metering declined by 65.19 percent in Q1 2022.
In March 2022, Mammanlafia Umar, chief operating officer, JEDC, said the DisCo would add 25,000 customers to its metered figure under the MAP scheme before the end of May in the same year.
Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company Plc (KEDC) recorded a metering performance of 22.19 percent as of Q1 2022.
In late 2021, KEDC entered into a strategic partnership with Smart Meters, an energy meter production firm, to provide energy meters to the DisCo. However, this did not translate into a significant result.
Kano Electricity Distribution Company Plc (KEDCO) was able to meter 22 percent of its registered customers as of Q1 2022. According to NERC, only 194,628 customers were metered.
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Just like Abuja, Benin, and Port Harcourt DisCos, early utilisation of KEDCO meter allocation under the NMMP affected its meter installations in Q1 2022 compared to Q4 2021.
Yola Electricity Distribution Company Plc (YEDC) sat at the bottom of the ladder with a 17.95 percent metering performance in Q1 2022. YEDC has been below par for several months on the back of insecurity ravaging Adamawa State and its environs.
Similar to the preceding quarter, the DisCo did not meter customers in Q1 2022 nor did it record any installation under the MAP and the NMMP scheme in the period. The DisCo’s poor offtake of the NMMP was caused by the ownership transition taking place at the time.
