(Quick News Africa)- The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and ZTE Nigeria Limited on Tuesday signed contract of $3.7 million dollars or N1.29 billion for the procurement and supply of 30,000 prepaid meters to AEDC.
The energy distribution company said the aim of the contract awarded to ZTE, a Chinese company operating in Nigeria, is to intensify mass metering of customers in its franchise locations of Niger, Kogi, Nasarawa and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
Ernest Mupwaya, the managing director of AEDC, signed the contract documents on behalf of the utility company, while Fan Jian, the managing director of ZTE, signed on behalf of ZTE.
Mupwaya said that AEDC would meet its target of 120,000 meters for 2017 by procuring the additional 30,000 meters.
The meters to be procured, he said that comprised 24,000 single phase and 6,000 three phase meters, adding that N214 million would be used to procure additional materials to install the meters.
Jian said it was the second time that ZTE was entering into a contract to supply meters to AEDC, having successfully delivered the initial supply of meters the utility company in the past.
According to him, the company which is also involved in the provision of telecommunication services to notable companies in the country, including government agencies, has been operating in Nigeria for 17 years.
Jian commended AEDC for the partnership and the confidence reposed on the company.
Since December 2016, AEDC has embarked on a mass metering project with a target of installing 120,000 meters annually in its business operational jurisdiction.
AEDC had in June procured 60,000 prepaid meters worth N2.4 billion from MOJEC International, a local meter manufacturer in Nigeria.
The company said the metering of customers was to bridge the metering gap, reduce estimation billing, restore confidence of customers and ultimately improve revenues.
Mupwaya further explained that the meters would help customers to monitor the rate of electricity consumed, reduce load shedding on the part of the company, and ultimately help eradicate energy theft by some consumers.
According to him, the continuous inflow of cash to the company will also enhance the procurement of more meters for customers.
He advised consumers to desist from bypassing meters and other forms of energy theft, as such illicit practices were negatively affecting the operations of the company in terms of technical and commercial losses.
The AEDC managing director said that the technical loss incurred by the company was in the region of 12 per cent, while the commercial loss was 42 per cent at the moment.
The technical losses are losses that occur in the process of receiving electricity from the power generating companies through the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and distributing it to consumers.
On their apart commercial, losses are occasioned by the criminal activities of some consumers, like energy theft, vandalism, and by-pass of meters among others.
However, the AEDC helmsman said that the company was reconfiguring its distributions lines to take care of the losses.
Meanwhile, AEDC has said it has commenced the metering of residents of Ako and AMAC housing estates in the Lugbe area of the FCT following the conclusion of enumeration of the estate.
