News
Electricity: Meter price hits N250,000 as many strive to exit estimated billing
Electricity: Meter price hits N250,000 as many strive to exit estimated billing
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC) move to deregulate Meter Asset Providers (MAP) was hailed as the much-needed solution to the country’s persistent metering gap crisis.
However, this silver bullet has come with a price, and not just figuratively. The soaring cost of prepaid meters has added a new layer of burden for the average Nigerian household, making the dream of escaping the trap of estimated billing feel like an increasingly distant hope.
For millions of Nigerians, the sharp rise in metering costs from about N80,000 to over N200,000 in just one year has become as burdensome as the problem it was meant to solve: eliminating estimated billing.
Four months ago, NERC introduced a promising policy to deregulate both meter prices and providers, embracing a willing-buyer, willing-seller system aimed at opening up the market. This move was intended to empower customers, allowing them to obtain meters from any approved vendor without relying on the DisCos.
While this policy appeared commendable on paper, it has brought new challenges.
The most pressing of these is the increase in meter prices, exacerbated by the prevailing economic conditions and rising inflation.
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According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the number of customers on estimated billing has surged from 5.83 million in Q4 2023 to 6.43 million in Q1 2024, marking a significant 10% rise.
These figures represent millions of households striving to escape the cycle of overbilling and other abuses by their distribution companies, only to find that the path to obtaining a prepaid meter has become even more difficult.
Latest Meter Prices
Following the announcement by NERC, DisCos and their meter providers partners have declared new meter prices, pointing to the deregulation policy and ailing economic conditions.
None of the new prices is below N100,000, a very sharp increase from the former price announced by NERC in September 2023.
According to the new prices by DisCos, the cost of a single phase meter rose from N81,975 to about N125,000, depending on the DisCo and the vendor the customer is purchasing from.
Different DisCos announced different prices from N120,00 for a single-phase meter to about N240,00 for a three-phase meter, a sharp increase that has made struggling Nigerians question their choices in obtaining meter and estimated billing.
Abuja DisCo:
Single Phase Meter — Between N105,000 to N131,000
Three Phase Meter — N198,000 to N220,000
Kaduna DisCo:
Single Phase Meter — Between N120,000 to N132,000
Three Phase Meter — Between N206,000 to N215,000
Ikeja DisCo:
Single Phase Meter — Between N120,000 to N125,000
Three Phase Meter — N213,000 to N225,000
Eko DisCo:
Single Phase Meter — Between N117,000 to N135,000
Three Phase Meter — Between 145,000 to N247,000
This increase in price is true for all the eleven DisCos across the country.
Electricity: Meter price hits N250,000 as many strive to exit estimated billing
News
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has directed the immediate freezing of all state-owned bank accounts.
In a statement issued on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, the governor stated that the accounts would remain frozen until further notice.
He instructed commercial banks, ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to comply with the order immediately or face severe consequences.
The statement reads: “All state bank accounts with commercial banks have been frozen. Commercial banks must comply with this order and ensure that not a single naira is withdrawn from government coffers until further notice.
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“Heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies must ensure full compliance without delay.
“Following necessary investigations and reconciliations, the governor will take appropriate action and decide on the way forward. For now, this order remains in effect.”
Okpebholo also directed relevant agencies to revert the name of the Ministry of Roads and Bridges to its previous title, the Ministry of Works, a change made during the Godwin Obaseki administration.
“It is odd to name a government institution the Ministry of Roads and Bridges, especially when not a single bridge was built by the previous administration — not even a pedestrian bridge.
“In the coming days, we will examine further actions taken by the previous administration and make decisions that serve the best interests of the state,” the statement added.
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
News
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
Prominent Islamic scholar Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Gumi has criticized the widely discussed two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling it a “deception.”
His remarks followed a recent summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Riyadh, where President Bola Tinubu and other leaders condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and urged an end to hostilities.
In an interview with Daily Trust at his Kaduna residence, Gumi argued, “This Two-State Solution is a deception. No Israeli will allow a Palestinian to survive, and Palestinians will never allow Israel to survive.
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The only solution is to dissolve the two states and create a democratically electable region.”
Gumi commended the OIC’s support for Palestine, noting that Muslims and Arabs worldwide increasingly see the treatment of Palestinians as “genocide” and accuse Israel of human rights abuses.
He also called for a return to the pre-1948 structure, where Palestinians, Jews, and Christians lived together, suggesting a single, inclusive state that allows peaceful coexistence.
“When I hear people talking about Two-State Solutions, I know they are just deceiving themselves,” Gumi added, advocating for a unified region where people of all faiths can live together, similar to the multi-faith coexistence seen in countries like the United States.
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
News
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
The Labour Party candidature of Olusola Ebiseni for the upcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State has been nullified.
The nullification follows the sacking of Ebiseni by the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday.
The governorship election of the southwest State will hold on Saturday, 16 November 2024.
The judgement disqualifying Ebiseni was unanimously delivered by the three members of the panel and read out by the chairman of the panel, Justice Adebukola Banjoko.
The judgment granted the prayer of the Labour Party who preferred the case against Ebiseni.
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Justice Banjoko held that, “the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 brought by the Labour Party against Chief Olusola Ebiseni and two others is allowed.”
Justice Banjoko further stated that the Certified True Copy of the judgment would be provided to the parties involved in the appeal as soon as possible for their review.
Recall that Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to accept and recognize Olusola Ebiseni and Ezekiel Awude as the Labour Party’s governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the November 16 Ondo State governorship elections.
Justice Nwite confirmed that the second primary election conducted by the Labour Party, which resulted in Ebiseni and Awude being selected as candidates, was valid and should be upheld by INEC.
However, the appellate court has now overturned the judgment of the trial court’s judgment.
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
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