The Federal Government has lamented incessant complaints of the estimated billing system of power supply to households by the Distribution Companies (DisCos) nationwide.
To tackle this, the federal government disclosed plans to distribute 10 million prepaid meters to households nationwide in the next five years.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said the first phase of the project will be the purchase and distribution of two million prepaid meters before the end of the first quarter of 2025.
Adelabu made this known in a sideline interview at the commissioning of the Mobile Power Substations in Oyo and Ogun states.
He added that President Bola Tinubu is working towards ensuring an uninterrupted power supply across the country but stated the need for consumers to benefit from and also pay for the power.
The minister acknowledged that estimated billing system is ripping off the consumers, emphasising the need for the Federal government, through the Ministry of Power, to purchase the 10 million prepaid meters to be distributed across the country.
He said out of these figures, two million prepaid meters will be distributed before the end of the first quarter in 2025.
With the disclosure in the pipeline, Adelabu called on Nigerians to do away with by-passing of electricity connection, insisting that the federal government is doing everything to make the country habitable for the people.
He also warned against vandalisation and theft of electricity cables.
The minister stated that aside from the government spending fortunes to replace stolen equipment, vandalising and stealing cables are also making provision of constant electricity power supply nationwide difficult.
On the rising cost of power supply, the Minister argued that it is not peculiar to Nigeria alone but assured the people that the government is doing everything to ease the burden through Renewable Energy.
According to him, the Renewable Energy of the Federal government is aimed at easing the burden of the rising cost of energy, adding that the rising cost of energy is taking a toll not only on the households but our institutions of learning.
He disclosed further that the government has concluded plan to deploy Alternative Renewable Energy Grid and Solar Energy Grid to the Universities, Teaching Hospitals and Research Institutes nationwide to reduce the burden of powering these institutions.
