FG asks power firms to provide pre-paid meters

The Federal Government has ordered the electricity distribution companies to provide pre-paid meters for their customers without further delay.
The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, gave the order at the third monthly meeting with the power sector operators at the Ugwuaji Transmission Station, Enugu, on Monday.
The minister said the companies must discharge their responsibilities of meeting the demands of the customers by supplying them with pre-paid meters so as to avoid estimated billings.

He also asked the firms to always engage their customers by informing them of any power outage and reasons for such in advance.
Fashola said the meeting discussed the issue of availability of gas, volatility of the foreign exchange market, financial capability of the distribution companies and difficulties in the pricing of gas in dollars instead of the local currency, among others.
According to him, it is not the responsibility of the government to explain to Nigerians why certain firms are not meeting up with their obligations, having sold the various companies to private investors.
“If you are not getting power from the transmission company, you must tell your customers so. The issue of review of tariff was arrived at after consultation. You (Discos) did the consultation. Why don’t you step out and explain the issue to your customers? All of us must explain to our different customers where we operate,” he said.