The Federal Government has begun the mass metering of the Nigerian Army formations nationwide.
During the kickoff of the initiative at the headquarters of the 9th Brigade of the Nigerian Army, located in the Ikeja military cantonment over the weekend, Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, announced that the initiative would mark the end of estimated billings in the power sector.
Adelabu further noted that the initiative would be implemented in stages, with the Ikeja cantonment serving as the inaugural phase. He mentioned that the initial phase of the project would span six weeks before the commencement of the subsequent phase.
He clarified that for the ongoing phase of the initiative, an amount of N12.7 billion has been allocated, out of a total budget of N40 billion for the mass metering project.
He added: “The mass metering in army formations nationwide will enable us to know what is being consumed every month to ensure appropriate billings and ease collections. The overall intention is to eliminate and make estimated billing a thing of the past”.
He said: “This is one of Mr President’s objectives as contained in the renewed hope agenda to ensure that electricity supply to the armed forces is prioritised and they do not suffer especially in the enjoyment of public utilities”.
Adelabu said the smart meters being installed are tamper-proof and would eliminate energy theft.
“You can not by-pass the meter which also comes with an app where customers can also get a statement of their consumption every month”.
He revealed that the meter enables seamless connection between the main power grid and off-grid solar power systems.
The Minister also mentioned that as part of the country’s energy strategy, efforts will be made to establish off-grid power solutions like solar energy for military barracks situated in remote areas lacking access to the main power grid.
“And where we have grid supply, we can interchange between the grid and solar supply if we are not satisfied with the number of hours supplied by the Distribution Companies (DISCOs). Beyond metering, we have to prioritise electricity supply to the barracks”, he said.
Adelabu said the metering project would be extended to all military formations in the country to provide 24-hour power supply to the barracks.
Speaking, Olatunbosun said the second phase of the project will begin in Abuja and Enugu, simultaneously adding that military formations across the 11 DISCOs will benefit from the exercise.
“Army formations in Jos, Abuja, Ibadan, Enugu, Kaduna, Ikeja and Eko distribution companies will benefit from the exercise”, he said.
In his earlier remarks, Major General Adetuyi remarked that the federal government’s metering initiative comes at a crucial time, particularly as the brigade headquarters has been experiencing inconsistent power supply for some time.
He added: “When I investigated, I found out that we were only being given three hours of electricity daily and on some days, we do not even get supplied. We have tried to resolve this and we have even involved the state government without any result. We also discovered that we were always being given estimated bills, though we would not have minded if the power supply had been regular. However, this commendable metering project has gladdened our heart”.