An indigenous meter manufacturing firm, Metering Solutions Manufacturing Services Limited, has revealed that its Onna factory in Akwa Ibom is currently producing about 3.6 million smart metres yearly.

The company said it aims to bridge the nation’s metering gap with its metres produced with the best of technology in the world.

The General Manager of the company, Mr Tolu Ogunkolade, stated this during an inspection tour of the Onna factory last Thursday.

He said the company, which began production in 2016, has demonstrated capacity and technological know-how in its products.

He said: “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 actually referenced around the number of test benches that you have.

“The above is also a function of how many metres you can take through the entire test operations in the course of either an eight-hour period or maybe even a three-hour period or whatever it is.

“So, it is on that basis that I make bold to say that over three million metres is what is possible to be produced from the 34 set of metre benches that are for test operation cycle that we have in this factory.

“What defines and determines the quality in metering is your test operations because the national metering code clearly specifies the various categories of test operations that you must take a smart metering product through.

“Another thing is the reference quality index for your product as a manufacturer. Metering quality is also determined on the basis of the quality of the test bench and the consistency of calibration and certification that you do with the test bench.”

On government’s support, he said: “The 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 improved level of patronage.”

On his part, the Group ED Technical and Operations, Income Electrix, Dr Emmanuel Audu, said that Metering Solutions has been able to bridge the gap between importation and local production of metres in Nigeria.

He noted that with the citing of the company in Onna, hundreds of locals have been provided with sustainable means of livelihood through direct and indirect employment.

Similarly, Commissioner for Finance and Management Services, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Mr Nathan Shetti, described products of Metering Solutions as comparable with that of foreign ones.

“I am actually impressed that they have a lot of capacity here. They can do up to 10,000 metres 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. It is an investment that is done by Nigerian investors. So, we really need to commend them. We really need to encourage them.”