Presidential Metering Initiative

Empowering Nigeria:
Smart Meters, Smarter Grid

Bridging the gap between metered and unmetered citizens

Welcome to the Presidential Metering Initiative, powered by Smart Grid Development Limited. Our mission is to transform Nigeria’s electricity supply by implementing advanced metering solutions to ensure every household and business receives fair and precise metering.

The Presidential Metering Initiative is dedicated to meeting the pressing need for dependable, precise, and accurate electricity metering, while also uplifting local industry and promoting energy efficiency. With the backing of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, our goal is to update the grid and ensure fair access to electricity across the country.

Our Mission

We aim to install 7 million smart end-user meters, alongside 150,000 distribution transformer meters, implementing a sophisticated Meter Data Management System (MDMS) to optimise energy usage and minimise losses.

Our Strategy

Overview

Smart Grid Development Limited, under the stewardship of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated, is at the forefront of this initiative. As both a demand aggregator and bulk purchaser, we ensure that the meters provided are cost-effective and meet international standards.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Our robust Monitoring and Evaluation unit ensures transparency and adherence to global best practices in meter deployment, providing oversight across the electricity supply chain.

The Current State of Metering Challenges

Current Challenges

With 58% of Nigeria’s electricity consumers currently unmetered, our initiative seeks to address this imbalance, improving the financial health of the power sector and enhancing service delivery.

Goals

Our immediate objectives are to reduce distribution losses and enhance billing accuracy. Our long-term vision includes aligning tariffs with actual costs, benefiting all stakeholders and leading to a more sustainable energy sector.

Governance

Our efforts are guided by a Coordinating Committee chaired by the Honourable Minister of Power. This committee is responsible for overseeing strategic decisions and ensuring the initiative’s objectives are achieved
Chief Adebayo Adelabu

Honourable Minister of Power

(Chairman)

Mrs. Olu Verheijen

Special Adviser to the President on Energy (Secretary)

Wale Edun

Honourable Minister of Finance

Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu CON

Minister of Budget and Economic Planning

Engr. Sanusi Garba

Chairman, NERC

Mr. Aminu Umar-Sadiq

MD, NSIA

Tunde Gbajumo

Private Sector Representative

Rahila Thomas

Private Sector Representative

This team of seasoned professionals ensures that every step we take is measured and contributes to the overarching goal of energy efficiency and transparency.

FAQs

The PMI is a government-led initiative aimed at addressing the significant metering gap in Nigeria’s electricity supply industry. It focuses on deploying smart meters to enhance billing accuracy, reduce energy losses, and support local manufacturing.

Currently, over half of Nigeria’s registered electricity consumers lack proper metering, leading to revenue losses and inaccurate billing. The PMI seeks to correct this by ensuring every consumer has access to a smart meter, thereby promoting a more efficient and transparent energy sector.

The initiative is managed by Smart Grid Development Limited (SGDL), a Special Purpose Vehicle created by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated. SGDL operates as both a demand aggregator and a bulk equipment purchaser to ensure cost efficiency and effectiveness.

The PMI aims to provide all consumers with smart meters, which will ensure they are only billed for the electricity they actually use. This will eliminate estimated billing and improve the overall fairness and transparency of the billing process.

The short-term goals include the reduction of distribution losses and the improvement of billing accuracy through smart meters and a Meter Data Management System (MDMS). Long-term goals focus on ensuring tariffs reflect actual costs and reducing technical losses through better infrastructure and technology.

The initiative is supported by government funding and strategic partnerships with both local and international meter manufacturers. This approach facilitates bulk purchasing and demand aggregation to achieve cost efficiencies.

The initiative is overseen by a Coordinating Committee chaired by the Honourable Minister of Power. This committee includes key government officials and private sector representatives who ensure the initiative meets its goals and adheres to national standards.

As of June 2023, there were 12,561,049 registered electricity consumers in Nigeria. However, only 42% of these consumers, amounting to 5,546,483 individuals, were equipped with meters. This leaves a significant 58% of registered customers without meters, relying on a capped estimated energy billing system.

The metering gap varies significantly across different regions and DisCos. For instance, as per the latest data:

– Ikeja DisCo has the highest metering rate at 70.39%.

– Yola DisCo has the lowest at 21.79%.

– Other regions like Abuja and Eko have metering rates of 59.78% and 59.02%, respectively.

The large metering gap has led to billing inaccuracies, significant revenue deficits, and suboptimal energy consumption patterns. This has further contributed to high Aggregate Technical Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses, which are primarily due to low meter penetration.

The PMI plans to install 7 million smart end-user meters and 150,000 distribution transformer meters to address the metering gap. By deploying smart meters and integrating them with a Meter Data Management System (MDMS), the initiative aims to reduce losses and improve the accuracy and fairness of billing.

By closing the metering gap, the PMI seeks to enhance financial liquidity in the power sector, improve energy delivery infrastructure, and ensure that tariffs reflect only prudent and reasonable expenses. The initiative also aims to reduce technical losses through better system metering at various levels of the electricity supply chain.

For more information about the PMI or to get involved, you can reach out via the contact details provided on our website: info@pmi.ng or by phone at 09083373333.