The minister of power, Adebayo Adelabu, has directed the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) to expedite action on the distribution of free prepaid meters to customers within its franchise area.

The minister stated this while addressing management of IBEDC and other critical stakeholders during a working visit to the IBEDC headquarters on Saturday in Ibadan.

Mr Adelabu said that the engagement reflects the federal government’s commitment to maintaining close, solution-oriented relationships with operators in the Nigeria electricity supply industry.

“Our objective is to hear directly from IBEDC, understand their operational realities, identify their pain points, and explore how government can better support their ambition as a utility responsible for powering homes, businesses, and industries.

“This engagement is in line with the ambitious plan of President Bola Tinubu to transform Nigeria’s power sector by ensuring reliable electricity for all Nigerians,” he said.

The minister charged IBEDC to improve on its metering deployment efforts, noting that the level of progress recorded has not been encouraging enough.

According to Mr Adelabu, information from the project implementation unit of federal government Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP) Metering Initiative indicates that only about 16,300 meters have been installed out of the roughly 59,000 meters supplied to IBEDC.

He advised IBEDC to treat early deployment of the available meters as a priority intervention necessary to improve customer confidence, reduce losses, and strengthen the sustainability of the power sector.

“These meters were not procured by the federal government to remain idle in warehouses.

“They were provided to help utilities strengthen their financial viability, improve transparency in billing, and ensure that customers pay accurately for electricity consumed.

“Going forward, I would like to encourage IBEDC to leverage every regulatory and operational opportunity available to it. One such opportunity is embedded generation.

“The concession of the Ikere Gorge Dam to Quaint Energy presents a viable pathway to integrate up to 10MW of additional capacity into your network.

“Strategic engagement on this opportunity could help boost supply reliability within your franchise area.

“In addition, I encourage IBEDC to actively explore franchising arrangements and interconnected mini-grid partnerships.

“Government remains committed to creating a supportive policy and regulatory environment for viable electricity distribution businesses.

“Our collective goal is to ensure that DisCos, such as IBEDC, are not only financially sustainable, but also capable of delivering reliable, affordable, and improved electricity services to all Nigerians,” he said.

The managing director of IBEDC, Francis Agoha, while acknowledging government support, told the minister that IBEDC had been without a core investor for the past four years.

He said that the company has been able to sustain seven states under its franchise purely through government support, particularly the ministry of power.

Mr Agoha said that IBEDC was recently sold to core investors, who are committed to providing the needed investment to move IBEDC to the next stage.

“We have also been working hand-in-hand with stakeholders, Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Rural Electrification Agency (REA), and all the contractors handling various government power projects within our franchise area.

“I want to commit here that in the next couple of months and in the future, we’ll see all the benefits of all the partnerships that we’ve had on the ground so far,” he added. 

(NAN)