The Nation Newspaper

Tag: meter

  • Local meter manufacturers seek govt’s intervention

    The Electricity Meters Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (EMMAN) has called on the Federal Government to assist its members’ firms from folding up.

    He said some of the firms might go under for lack of patronage by the privatised power companies.

    Its Executive Secretary, Mr. Muideen Adebayo Ibrahim, told The Nation that despite the huge loans his colleagues took from banks to build the meter manufacturing factories, the electricity distribution companies  (DISCOS) have refused to buy meters from them. The situation has forced some of their members to close shops, while others drastically cut their workforce, he decried.

    He said: “Our members out of sheer patriotism, despite numerous challenges confronting manufacturers in Nigeria, took undaunted risks with borrowed funds with the accompanying high interest rates, established world-class factories with state-of-the-art facilities.

    “Every local manufacturer has production capacity of 1.2 million meters per annum with room for future expansion. Not only that, smart meters (single and three-phase) are produced with GPRS data bundle that allows for communication between the meter and the server.

    “Our members have robust billing application system, energy theft accounting system, automatic metering infrastructure, superlative customer relationship management system platform, prompt after sales service and asset management mechanism, among others.

    “In fact, some of the billing application system or platforms designed by our members are currently being used by some of the distribution companies. This actually laid credence to the fact that the local meter manufacturers can do it, even if not better. But they have been faced with plethora of challenges in the past, which became more serious within the last one and half years, especially since the new owners of the distribution companies took over.

    “In fact, without mincing words, it has been very tough for our members, hence some have downsized their workforce and others shut down factories. Currently, one of the financiers threatened to dispose the factory of one of our members for his inability to service his obligation. It is, indeed, a sad commentary because we are running from pillar to post in order to ameliorate the situation.”

    As a result of the enormous challenges facing them, the EMMAN scribe urged the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the sector, create and make available a special intervention fund where local electricity meter manufacturers should draw soft loans at a maximum of two per cent interest rate. With such loans, locally produced meters can be sold to the distribution companies (DisCos) at very competitive price just as their counterparts from China sell to the DISCOS  on one year moratorium and five per cent interest, he said.

    He also asked the government to prevail on all the DISCOS to patronise locally produced electricity meters to create more jobs for Nigerians, increase its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which would on the long run boost the yearly revenue earnings of Nigeria and curb capital flight, among others. The government should support and encourage EMMAN members as the Chinese Government gave unflinching support to their counterparts in China, he added.

    Other requests by the local meter manufacturers include providing them (manufacturers) with the necessary infrastructure and facilities because some of the manufacturers rely on generating sets to operate, prevail on the DISCOS to stop estimated billing, and let the    Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) step up and perform its oversight functions and responsibilities effectively and efficiently without bias or sentiment. NERC should apply the necessary sanction to any errant firm if need be, and ensure that the provision of Local Content Act on power sector is obeyed to the letter, he said.

    “Government should place embargo on the importation of meters in order to encourage local meter manufacturers, just as it was recently done in the automotive sector, protect the local manufacturers just as done in Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco and South Africa, allow local manufacturers to sell meters to consumers and/or approved vendors in order to open up the market, and mandate all the local meter manufacturers to roll out at least 200,000 units of meters monthly.

    ‘’This will keep the factories running and more Nigerians would be gainfully employed. Rather than allowing the DisCos to buy from Chinese companies, which means developing China at the expense of our dear nation. NERC and Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment should act as the supervisory bodies in this regard.

    “We will like to recommend the constitution of a monitoring committee for the DisCos and the manufacturers. The committee should comprise of representatives from; NERC, DisCos, EMMAN, Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), EMS, Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and Ministry of Power. This will ensure that things move on in the right direction which in the long run will propel the economy and this would no doubt enable more jobs to be created for the teeming unemployed,’’ he added.

  • BoI to build synergy with local meter manufacturer

    BoI to build synergy with local meter manufacturer

    A meter manufacturing company in Ogun State, MOMAS Electric Meters Manufacturing Company Ltd (MEMMCOL) has said it can manufacture all the metres needed by the electricity  distribution companies (DISCO’s) in the country.

    Its Chairman, Mr. Kola Balogun, spoke while conducting the Managing Director of Bank of Industry (BoI), Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa and his team round his factory on the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway, Ogun State.

    Balogun, an engineer, also told The Nation that he set up the firm to manufacture digital prepaid electricity meters.

    He said the company has developed some world-class standard products to provide electricity metering solutions, using the latest technologies in design and production.

    Balogun, who noted that the company believes in the local content policy of the Federal Government, said Nigeria can no longer depend on other countries for its technological requirement, adding that it should develop and create value with appropriate policies to encourage indigenous firms.

    He said his firm has almost 100 per cent local content  in human  resources and materials, adding that he employs young Nigerians and equips them with requisite training locally and internationally. “We have invested a lot of resources in our people through training and retraining. Some of our engineers have been trained in India and in the United States (US) to ensure that they compete favourably with their counterparts anywhere in the world,” Balogun said.

    He said with tenacity of purpose and appropriate technology, including smart technology and ruggedness, the company has  produced integrated circuit and silicon conductors, noting that it was a bold step in the sector for an indigenous company because of its high technology value.

    Responding, BoI’s chief praised the company for its technology, noting that they are comparable to others around the globe. He urged that the nation’s industrial policy be skewed towards  companies such as MEMMCOL to turn the economy around.

    He said the company can meet local demand in the metering system for the energy and the telecoms sector.

    According to him, for a country with over 130 million telephone subscribers, the company and the public will be best for it. He said: “The technology solves two particular problems such as cash flow for the subscriber and for the telecommunication companies to have proper billing for their customers.”

    Olaoluwa advised the firm to explore opportunities in the sector and exploit its core competence. On the cost advantage of the metering system, he implored telecommunication companies to stop importing metres as the locally produced ones are more efficient and cheaper. He said the bank is looking in the area of off-grid solar energy solutions for the sector hence, a Nigerian entity at the forefront of technology transfer should be supported.

    The MEMMCOL chief executive said: “Other countries support their experts. Having a stable naira will give us advantage because we also source some of our materials abroad. Within the pricing index of the regulator we can compete with imported products. We have interactive meter that works with a phone such that with your phone you can calculate your load profile from your office or home. However, this, we acknowledge, requires a lot of campaign to educate the public because of the knowledge gap. The  phone interactive metre technology is smart and indigenous to us. Our client profile is growing by the day”

    He called on the government to  build a national payment gateway to encourage the DISCO’s key into the new technology  to discourage people  from  queuing to pay for electricity bills  and buying recharge cards from hawkers. The technology, he said, affords people the opportunity to do their businesses from the comfort of their homes.

    On support from the government, he said the company received five-year tax holiday from and financial support from BoI

    The BoI boss said as a development bank, the bank wants to key in into the government’s campaign of Light- up- Nigeria. This was the reason for supporting energy solutions in six locations of the country, he added.

    According to Olaoluwa, the support for MEMMCOL is to encourage it to grow to a level like its counterpart in the US, Solar  Energy,  which has grown into a multi-billion dollar company.

    He pledged that the bank would provide a portal to profile its quality customers with good output to interact with and patronise one another.

    He said if supported, the company could employ about 500 workers instead of the 100 has at the moment.