In 2018, NERC came up with a program called
Meter Asset Provider (MAP) which the commission said will close the metering
gap which Nigerian have experienced decades ago. The commission also said that
with this program (MAP) they propose by the year 2020 every Nigeria should have
gotten a prepaid meter installed in their business or residential premises.
Recall that this program was birthed due to the lamentations of Nigerians on
the disco’s estimated billing methodology.
Therefore if one must understand all there is to
be said about the MAP program, then a good starting point should be from the definitions
and interpretations of terms.
DEFINITIONS
& INTERPRETATION
Act- means the Electric Power Sector Reform
Act no. 6 of 2005, as may be amended from time to time.
Agreement- means the Agreement signed by the Parties and all the
attached documents, including the Schedules
Associated Company- means any company in which the concerned party owns 20 percent or
more of the controlling shares;
Authorized Access- means all acts related to tampering of meters
in accordance with NERC Regulations and Order on Unauthorized Access
ATC&C Loss- means the Aggregate Technical, Commercial, and Collections Loss.
This loss is the difference between the amount of electricity received by a
Distribution Company from the Transmission Company and the amount of
electricity for which it is able to collect revenue from end user/customers;
Business Day- means any day of the week other than a Saturday or Sunday that is
not a Nigerian national holiday or a day on which banks are authorized by law
or executive order to be closed in the Federal Republic of Nigeria; provided,
however, that in the event that such law or executive order results in banks in
the Federal Republic of Nigeria being closed for more than three (3) weekdays
or non-holidays in succession, the next weekday following such three (3) days
shall be deemed to be a Business Day;
Billing
Period- means a
Metering Service Charge cycle been a calendar month.
Capital
Cost- means the cost of the meter, meter
accessories, financing costs, return on investment, communication
infrastructure costs, installation costs, testing and certification of the
metering system and all associated cost.
Commission- means the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory
Commission established by the Act.
Contracting Parties- mean parties entering into a
legal Agreement
Contact Center- is
a customer service center equipped to handle large amounts of
customer communications.
Cost of
the Meter Asset- means the cost of the meter, meter accessories
and all associated costs of meter installation plus a return on investment.
Customer- means
any end user who is contracted to receive electricity supply from a
Distribution Licensee.
Customer information- means all data related to personal information
as well as electricity consumption pattern of the customers who are metered by
the MAP
Distribution
Company-
Means the counter party to this Agreement who has been issued a distribution license
under section 67 of the Act.
Distribution Company Confidential Information- shall mean any information of a confidential or proprietary
nature received by MAP, directly or indirectly, from Distribution Company, or
acquired or developed pursuant to the provision of the Services, including, but
not limited to, business affairs, data, designs, manuals, training materials
and documentation, formulas, ideas, inventions, knowledge of manufacturing
processes, mask-works, methods, prices, financial and accounting data, products
and product specifications, systems, and technical information and the terms of
the Agreement
Distribution Licensee- means a person that has been issued a
distribution licence under section 67 of the Act.
FGN- means
the Federal Government of Nigeria;
Force
Majeure- means an extraordinary event or circumstance
beyond the control of the Bidder such as a war, strike, riot, crime or an act
of God such as flooding, earthquake or volcanic eruption;
Government- means all
Government of Nigeria, including the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN), and
State and Local Governments;
Incidence
Response- means the organization and approaches
adopted by the MAP to address and manage any breach of security of the metering
system
Irrevocable
payment guarantee- means an
instrument assuring the MAP of a determined payment to be made by the utility
into its account at the end of every month
Leveling – means the process of reconciling the accounts
of MAP to capture outstanding payments made from the variance account
Licence
Terms and Conditions means the terms and conditions of licences
under the Act including terms and conditions on the metering of customers in
NESI authorized and approved by the Commission under section 67 - 71 of the
Act.
Line of Sight – means an authorization to review the data of
payment going into the dedicated account
Maintenance
Cost- means the planned or unplanned recurring costs
required to support the ongoing operation of the metering system, meter reading
and inspection as may be agreed between the parties. Where applicable, costs
associated with monitoring of meter tampering and bypass shall be as agreed by
the parties.
Meter- means a
device that measures the amount of electric energy consumed by a customer.
Meter Asset Provider (MAP)- means a person that is granted a
permit by the Commission to provide metering services which may include meter
financing, procurement, supply, installation, maintenance and replacement.
Metering Installation Standards- means the
requirements for the connection of meters and metering systems to an electrical
circuit as specified in the Metering Code.
Metering Code- means the code issued by the
Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission that regulates metering systems in
the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
Metering Service- means the services required to supply and install the
Metering Infrastructure, including but not
limited to insurance, warehousing along the MAP’s value chain, installation, training, customer service/help
desk options and other such obligations of the MAP related to the deployment of
the Metering Infrastructure under
the Agreement”;
MAP Regulations-
means the Meter Asset
Provider Regulations 2018.
Metering Service
Agreement- means an agreement entered into between the Distribution Licensee and
the MAP for the provision of metering services.
Metering Service Charge-This refers to periodic payments made by an
electricity customer to cover the cost of metering services rendered by
MAP. Meter service charge covers the cost of providing meters and the
ongoing costs of operating and maintaining the metering infrastructure. This
cost structure provides a transparent way of billing metering costs so that
customers are only required to pay for their own metering services.
Metering Services Provider- means a person certified by the Commission
under the MSP Regulations as a manufacturer, importer, supplier (vendor), or
installer of Electric Energy Meters and /or Metering Systems.
Metering Infrastructure- means the Meters and all ancillary materials to enable
successful deployment and use of the Meters and handheld devices such as customer
interface units, meter boxes / enclosures, cables, circuit breakers, network or
as particularly set out in Schedule 2 (Meter Specifications and Installation
Requirements);
MSP Regulations means the NERC’s Guidelines for Certification of
Metering Service Providers and Related Matters (Guideline No: NERC G-0112);
Multi-Year
Tariff Order- means the schedule of tariffs to be paid,
established by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC);
MYTO- means
Multi-Year Tariff Order;
Naira- means
the currency that is the legal Bid of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;
NERC- means
the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission;
NESI- means
the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.
No
Objection- means an authorisation issued by the
Commission to qualified Applicants for the purpose of participating in a
Distribution Licensee's procurement process for the provision of meters and
metering services.
Permit- means a permit granted to the MAP under the MAP
Regulations.
Proprietary Rights – means the rights owned by OEMs or software
developers for the equipment or solutions deployed by the MAP
Quality
Management System- means is a
collection of articulated business processes focused on consistently meeting
customer requirements and enhancing their satisfaction.
Regulations- means
these Meter Asset Provider Regulations or any other specific regulation made
pursuant to section 96 of the Act.
Service Agreement- means an agreement between two
parties where one agrees to provide a specified service to the other.
Service Level Agreements (SLA) -means
a contract between the Meter Asset Provider and the Distribution Licensee which
defines the level of service that the Distribution Licensee expects the MAP to
provide to customers.
Statutory Requirements- This refers to those requirements which
are applicable by virtue of law enacted by the government.
Testing and Calibration- means all required tests to be carried out by
NEMSA designated Meter Test Stations
Utility- means the electricity distribution company
Variance
account- means an account set aside by the
utility created from security deposit of customer to cover the cost of
non-payment for meter as a result of non-vending by a customer within a given
period of time.
Vending data- means record of units of electricity purchased by the customers
metered by the MAP.
