NAN-H-97
Standards
By Itohan Abara-Laserian
Lagos, Feb. 16, 2017 (NAN) The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) met with metering manufacturers and other stakeholders on Thursday to discuss the domestication of international standards in electrical metering.
The technical meeting was to ensure that manufacturers and importers of electrical meters are abreast with the standards and to discuss issues that would ensure domestication of ideals of the International Electricity Commission (IEC).
Mr Richard Adewunmi, Group Head, Electrical Electronics Department of SON said in Lagos that electricity metering was a critical product that needed to be uniform.
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“Basically as one of the mandate of SON to elaborate standards for products and services, every time we have this kind of meeting, we call it technical committee meeting to look at product standard and electrical electronics unit.
“At this particular meeting, we are looking at a very critical product, which is the electricity metering now, and why we have to do that today is that we have local manufacturers of the product which will require the standard.
“We have people who are importing it, which must also meet with the Nigerian standard requirement, and so what we have done is to produce a document using the IEC.’’
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Also speaking Mr Albert Wilberforce, Head, Ports and Borders Operations of the organisation said that the complaints from the general public about faulty billing system boiled down to standard of the metering system.
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“We have had these complaints from the consumers and the general public about the issue of charges being given to consumers sometimes arbitrarily; sometimes you cannot just even fathom how to exact what you are being charged.
“Now there is need for SON to bring a harmonised standard for the metering service, there will uniformity in the charges and service being rendered and being consumed by the general public.
“SON is a member of the International Electro-Technical Committee on standardisation a member of ISO so we cannot be in isolation to the international community.’’
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Wilberforce said that electricity metering charges depended on the areas of operation, which could be industrial and residential.
Dr Tolulope Akinbulire, Acting Head of Department, Electronic Department University of Lagos said that both the consumer and service providers of electricity services should be satisfied through standardization.
“Everybody is aware that when there is a business outfit, you want to put in as little as possible to get as much in order to enlarge profit at regular intervals.
“And we also know that we have different characters in the environment from the manufacturer up to the consumer.
“These items (electrical metering system) is a key item in that long chain from the manufacturer to the consumer and is what the consumer relies on to give the most accurate information about what exactly they are consuming,’’ Akinbulire stated.
Meanwhile, Mr Monday Ugbogu, Head of Installation, Mojec International Limited told the News Agency of Nigeria on the sidelines that the meeting had been long expected and it would foster unity.
“We have been expecting such programme so that all the standards of meter manufacturing can be harmonized under one umbrella.
“So that we will have a reference point where we can go to if we have any issues relating to standard and requirements in meter manufacturing, as it relates to Nigeria electricity supply industry,’’ he said. (NAN)
ITM/ERO/YEE
Edited by Emmanuel Okara/Emmanuel Yashim
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