An indigenous meter manufacturing firm, Metering Solutions says it Onna factory in Akwa Ibom is currently producing about 3.6 million smart meters annually.
The company says it aimed to bridge the nation’s metering gap with its meters that produced with the best technology in the world.
Mr Tolu Ogunkolade, General Manager, Metering Solutions Manufacturing Services Limited, stated this during an inspection tour of the Onna factory on Thursday.
He stated that the company, which began production in 2016, has demonstrated its capacity and technological expertise in its products.
According to him, “the requirement for capacity demonstration in metering is not referenced around assembly operations, it’s not referenced around what most industry competitors bandy around.
“What constitutes your capacity proof is referenced around the number of test benches that you have.
“The above is also a function of how many meters you can take through the entire test operations in the course of either eight hours or maybe even a three-hour
period or whatever it is.
“So it is based on that, I dare to say that over three million meters is what is possible to be produced from the 34 set of
meter benches that are for the test operation cycle that we have in this factory.
“What defines and determines the quality in metering is your test operations, because the
The national metering code clearly specifies the various categories of test operations that you must follow when using a smart metering product.
“Another thing is the reference quality index for your product as a manufacturer.
“Metering quality is also determined based on the quality of the test bench and the consistency of calibration and certification that you do
with the test bench.
“This will ensure that the products you have, the products that you are producing, are in conformance with the technical specifications.”
On government support, he said, “Our government cannot do anything to enhance our productivity.
“The government can only support to ensure that the capacity and capability proof is translated into productivity by an improved level of patronage.
On his part, Dr Emmanuel Audu, Group ED Technical and Operations, Income Electrix, says that Metering Solutions has been able to bridge the gao between importation and local production of meters in Nigeria.
He further noted that with the citing of the company in Onna, hundreds of locals have been providwd with sustainable means of livelihood through direct and indirect employments.
According to Audu, “The inspection tour is to ascertain the production capacity and standard of products as part of efforts to push patronage.”
Simirlarly, Mr Nathan Shetti, Commissioner for Finance and Management Services, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), described products of Metering Solutions as comparable with that of foreign ones.
“I am actually impressed, and they have a lot of capacity here. They can do up to 10,000 meters in a day, which is very impressive. I am sure they can also up that, especially with additional shifts and the rest of them.
“So, quite a good job here. An investment that is done by Nigerian investors. So we really need to commend them. We really need to encourage them.
“it is very important for the commission to ensure that companies like Metering Solutions are given the opportunity to participate in that process of metering Nigerians under the presidential metering initiative,” he stated.
