Abia Lawmakers Commend Abia Power Over Progressive, Free Mass Metering
The Abia State House of Assembly, has lauded Aba Power for the utility’s ongoing aggressive distribution of smart meters in its coverage area.
The Abia State House of Assembly, has lauded Aba Power for the utility’s ongoing aggressive distribution of smart meters in its coverage area.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Power and Public Utilities, Aaron Uzodike, and another member of the Committee, Uche Onye, spoke in two separate interviews with reporters after visiting the Aba Power headquarters in the Osisioma Industrial Layout, Aba to inspect the first batch of 20,000 smart meters from China now being distributed as the company resumed its free mass meter roll-out last week, even as the areas being given free metres include Umuode Village, Tonimas Junction, the Old Aba-Owerri Expressway, and the Power Line Area.
They said, “We can’t deny the evidence of our own eyes. They are not just 20,000 meters available as Aba Power pledged to members of the Abia State House of Assembly for distribution within one month when we invited them on two occasions to Umuahia, but are also state of the art.
“What is more, they are being given to customers free of charge, though it is costing Aba Power at least N3.4 billion for every 20,000 units of one-phase meter and three-phase meter.
“We are delighted that the 20,000 smart meters being distributed now are from just one firm called Eves Metering, a Chinese firm.
“The new system makes for transparency and responsible use of electricity.”
Uzodike further explained that the electricity company was invited to the House of Assembly following a petition by three persons purporting to be members of the Abia Electricity Consumers Forum, claiming that there were not enough prepaid meters in the territory covered by the utility.
Meanwhile, three other metering firms including an indigenous firm-Kayz Consortium, which has moved its machines and equipment to the Geometric Power premises in the Osisioma Industrial Layout to start assembling them the metres are supplying at least 20,000 units each,
However, Uzodike praised Geometric Power for assisting Kayz to airfreight the meters which increased the costs of providing the smart meters, but noted that “it is a manifestation of the seriousness which the Geometric Power attaches to the smart meter installation project.”
Also, speaking on the occasion, Hon. Onye expressed satisfaction that Aba Power has set a target of providing smart meters to 100,000 customers this year alone.
He welcomed the new system of providing a compound of “four flats with four state-of-the-art prepaid meters and a compound of eight flats with eight smart meters, unlike in the past when the entire compound would be saddled with only one meter, thus creating controversy, confusion and disagreements which sometimes resulted in physical fights by the flat occupants.
Onye also commended Aba Power for providing meters to customers on “a feeder by feeder basis and from end to end because it makes for orderliness, transparency, trust, and peace”.
There are 31 feeders in the Aba Ring-fenced Area comprising nine of the 17 local government areas in Abia State. Four other feeders were fully provided with smart meters during the first phase of the mass metering campaign which ended four months ago.
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