The House of Representatives Committee on Power has urged the Federal Government to impose special tariffs and remove waivers for imported meters in the country.
The Committee believes that taking these measures will boost local production, create jobs, preserve the value of the Naira and ginger the economy.
House Chairman Committee, Victor Nwokolo, gave the advice when he led his committee members on a visit to the Metering Solutions Manufacturing Services Limited (MSMSL) in Akwa Ibom State, said the company with annual production capacity of 3.6million, can bridge the Metering gap in the country if supported.
He expressed satisfaction with the quality of meters produced by the company and urged the Federal Government to support indigenous meter manufacturing by discouraging the importation of electricity meters.
He maintained that the administration of President Bola Tinubu has achieved giant strides in the power sector, adding that the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) was doing well in its assignment.
He said: “I am impressed with the quantity and quality of meters produced by Metering Solutions Manufacturing Services limited. I want to specially commend the immediate past governor of the state, Mr. Udom Emmanuel for creating the enabling environment for the company to thrive here.
“The new agenda of the President Tinubu administration is to encourage local investors. To achieve this, we must conserve our foreign exchange, increase the value of the Naira by patronizing local manufacturers.
“The Nigerian Local Content Law must be considered. It is not going to be business as usual by allowing Chinese bring in finished products. The negative effect of bringing in meters and other finished products is that how do our teeming youths get employment?
“When those imported meters get bad who repairs them for you? Let’s patronize our local manufacturers. When they get bad, we can return them to the Discos. All they need to do is put them through their computers, get them repaired and returned to you.
“There is no point giving waivers to the Chinese to import metres or whoever brings the products. There are usually tariffs and penalties issued to people who import cars into the country,”
