The Federal Government has initiated the mass metering of Nigerian Army formations across the country.
During the flag-off ceremony held at the headquarters of the 9th Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Ikeja Military Cantonment, over the weekend, Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu emphasised that this initiative marks the end of estimated billings in the power sector.
Adelabu outlined that the mass metering exercise will be executed in phases, with the Ikeja Cantonment serving as the starting point for the first phase.
He disclosed that the current phase of the exercise is slated to last for six weeks, following which the subsequent phases will commence.
Furthermore, Adelabu stated that a total of N12.7 billion has been disbursed for the current phase of the exercise, out of a planned N40 billion budget allocated for the overall mass metering project.
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 metres being installed are tamper-proof and would eliminate energy theft.
“You cannot bypass the metre, which also comes with an app where customers can also get a statement of their consumption every month.”.
He disclosed that the metre allows interconnectivity between the grid and the off-grid solar power supply.
The minister said that part of the energy blueprint for the country is also to build off-grid power sources, such as solar energy, for military barracks in remote areas without grid supply.
“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.
Earlier in his address, Maj. General Adetuyi said the Federal Government metering initiative is timely as the brigade headquarters has been having an epileptic power supply over 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 hearts.”
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