Buhari announces distribution of one million free meters across Nigeria

President Buhari has once again restated his commitment to ending estimated billing in Nigeria's electricity sector

The president disclosed that one million free meters will be distributed in some parts of the country under the Presidential Mass Metering Initiative

The initiative, according to Buhari, will help address the 6.5 million deficit of meters across the country

As Nigeria battles with electricity challenges, President Muhammadu Buhari has reiterated his administration’s commitment to making a positive impact in the crucial sector.

The Nigerian president in a thread of tweets posted via his verified Twitter handle, @MBuhari, on Wednesday, November 4, disclosed that efforts are ongoing to provide one million free meters in some parts of the country.

Legit.ng notes that the free mets will be distributed under the first phase of the Presidential Mass Metering Initiative which is aimed at ending the estimated billing regime in electricity supply.

According to the president, subsequent phases of the mass metering initiative will also help to address the 6.5 million metres national deficit.

He further explained that the administration decided to locally manufacture the meters to create jobs.

The tweet reads:

“Under the first phase of the Presidential Mass Metering Initiative, we are making funding immediately available for DisCos to roll out 1,000,000 Meters in the first phase, at no cost to consumers. Deployment has already started in parts of Kano, Kaduna, Lagos and Abuja.“Future phases of this Metering Initiative will help us fully meet the 6.5 million deficit of meters nationwide and will impact an estimated 30 million consumers.“All meters under this program will be sourced from local manufacturers and in-country stock, to create jobs.“We are committed to ending estimated billing in all forms in Nigeria, and ensuring that Nigerians pay only for the electricity they consume.”Meanwhile, after sealing a deal with organised labour, the federal government on Thursday, October 29, said that the collection of Service-Based Electricity Tariffs (SBT) would resume.

This development was confirmed by Ahmad Zakari, the special adviser on infrastructure to President Buhari, during the 51st virtual Power Dialogue in Abuja, organised by Nigeria Electricity Hub.