Patronise local meter manufacturers, minister advises DISCOs

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, on Monday advised Distribution Companies (DISCOs) to patronise local meter manufacturing companies in the country.

He gave the advice while inaugurating the Mass Meter Deployment programme in Kano on Monday.

The minister said such patronage was necessary to encourage the production of meters by the local manufacturing companies in the country and save foreign exchange.

Fashola noted that the inauguration of the scheme in Kano was a clear indication that the Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) was committed to ensuring effective service delivery.

He commended KEDCO for the initiative and urged other DISCOs to develop their own strategies for mass deployment of meters for the benefit of their customers.

In his remarks, the Managing Director of KEDCO, Alhaji Jamilu Gwamna, said the company had purchased more than 63, 000 meters to be distributed to its customers.

Gwamma said that the inauguration of the scheme would go a long way in checking the issue of crazy bills, in addition to ensuring effective service delivery.

"Our intention is to ensure that by 2020, the company will be the most valuable company to compete favourably with other companies in the country", he said.

Also speaking, the Vice-Chancellor, Bayero University, Kano, Prof. Yahuza Bello, called on the minister to use the magic wand he used in Lagos to improve power supply in the country.

"The power sector has a lot of challenges, and with low power supply, we are spending N6 million weekly on diesel to power our generators in the university", he said.

Bello said that if power supply improved in Kano, the management of the university was ready to pay the money to KEDCO to enable it serve its customers better.

NAN reports that the minister was in Kano to attend the sixth Monthly Power Sector and Stakeholder's Meeting.