When the federal government launched the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) to provide prepaid meters for customers to ease the burden of meter acquisition, there were doubts as to how the initiative would be sustained given the dearth of local content needed to meet up in-country production of about 30 per cent of meter requirements.
About one million meters were targeted under phase zero and four million under phase one of the exercise. One of the key successes of the NMMP initiative was how rapidly it has increased private sector interest in investing in the local meter assembly, manufacturing and installation space.
In addition to the springing up of new meter assembly plants in Lagos and Kaduna, there has also been refurbishment and upgrades of some metering plants that had also fallen into disrepair such as EMCON in Kaduna.
This development in the meter assembly space is driven by the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) commitment to support local meter assembly/manufacturing as only indigenous companies would be allowed to participate in the bidding process for the upcoming phase of the programme.
Metering Company with a Difference
This promise to increase the job creation impact of the programme, which has already attained impressive heights with over 10,000 direct jobs created as a result of the phase zero of the programme. One of the key players driving the federal government’s metering programme, is MOJEC International Holdings, one of the foremost indigenous metering companies in Africa.
MOJEC has subsidiaries in the power, energy, real estate, and retail sector with operations across Africa and Asia with thriving meter manufacturing plants and capacity to support the NMMP project.
It manufactures and supplies a variety of meters ranging from: Maximum Demand, Whole Current, Pre-Paid Meters, Automatic Meter Reading System (AMR) as well as latest in Metering technology, Automatic Meter Infrastructure (AMI) via its sister company MOJEC Meter Company, one of Nigeria’s first-meter factories and Africa’s largest Meter Manufacturer.
Mojec International Holdings led by its Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Chantelle Abdul, has taken the Nigerian electricity industry by storm, putting prepaid meters in homes and offices of individuals and corporate citizens and ensuring that the government’s promise of fair and accurate electricity bills payment is realized.
Solving Metering Issues
Ms. Abdul who also leads the Board of Trustees of the Meter Manufacturers and Assemblers Association of Nigeria (MMAAN) said, “To mitigate challenges bedeviling the power sector in Nigeria, Mojec has intensified efforts towards ensuring a level of stability in the power sector. Our priority has been not just to see Nigerians have access to electricity, but also pay for what they consume only.”
At a recent meeting with officials from the Lagos State Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, she said MOJEC was ready to partner with Lagos state government, which is the largest state contributor to the national gross domestic product to transform the energy sector, close the metering gap and provide affordable meters to electricity consumers.
Globally, thriving enterprises sprout on the identification of problems and flourish by proffering solutions to the problems for commensurate remuneration. This is where the win-win philosophy appeals to mankind the most. This value creation inspired MOJEC to approach its business operations with an eye toward solving problems within the energy sector.
The company has a strong footprint in Nigeria, Africa, and the Middle East, where it is delivering on smart meter manufacturing, clean energy, and other business areas. This is just one of the firsts, as MOJEC is the only player in the Nigerian energy sector to have such footprints across the world. Ms. Abdul, believes in the firm’s innovative drive, which has seen it deliver consistently on its corporate mantra of “Building a world of possibilities in the midst of impossibilities”.
Deploying Smart Meters
To mitigate these challenges, the company has intensified efforts towards ensuring a level of stability in the power sector. Its priority has been to see Nigerians have access to electricity, as well as paying for only what they consume. It has pioneered the introduction of smart meters in the country and painstakingly delivered with its production and installation capacity.
This has come in handy in helping to propagate the objectives of government’s agenda in the areas of increasing Nigeria’s metering rate; increasing local meter manufacturing capacity to strengthen the local meter value chain; creating jobs in the local meter value chain, and supporting the Nigerian economy by eliminating erratic billings.
R&D Investments
Harnessing the skills of the world’s finest Engineering Researchers, Developers and Consultants who play a combined role of conceptualizing, designing and implementing industry standard products, MOJEC pioneered the Mobile MAP initiative, its meter penetration and partnership idea, with which the Mojec Meter Asset Management Company Limited (M3AC) has been pushing to get more Nigerians conveniently metered.
This has seen MOJEC partner with as many as nine out of the 11 power distribution companies (DisCos) across the country and installation of over one million smart meters in the Nigerian market. Also, MOJEC pioneered, led and introduced Vendor Financing to the sector, which enabled five DisCos to roll out hundreds of thousands of meters for the first time in the history of the sector, post-privatization.
Its investments in research and development guarantee that these initiatives are sustained at peak quality with local adaption, which makes the smart meters extremely durable. MOJEC boasts of 99.999 per cent Product Assurance Quality (PAQ). Its product quality guarantee is founded on robust R&D team which gives significant input to modify standard metering of its Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) partners by adapting the meters with Nigerian local factors to make its products robust and durable.
MOJEC’s state-of-the-art Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) monitoring system emerged as a key factor in meter tracking across the DisCos and also aided the easy monitoring and tracking of field meters. The AMI system is currently deploys in partnership with the Port Harcourt DisCo, Ibadan DisCo, Ikeja DisCo, EKO DisCo, Enugu DisCo, Abuja DisCo, Yola DisCo, and Jos DisCo, allowing for automation and enabling DisCos to remotely read, monitor as well as manage revenue collection.
Business Person of the Year Award
It is in the power sector that Ms. Chantelle Abdul’s name rings a bell. She oversees MOJEC’s state-of-the-art electricity meter manufacturing plant in the country with a production capacity of four million meters annually designed to serve the local African markets.
She has grown the family business into becoming the largest smart meter manufacturer in West Africa and have expanded the firm’s portfolio from meter manufacturing to include power generation, transmission and distribution services. She oversees a portfolio of companies including: Mojec Meter Asset Management Company, Virtuitis Solaris Power, Mojec Meter Company, and the Meter Service Hub.
Recently, the GMD/CEO of MOJEC International Limited, Ms. Chantelle Abdul was announced as LEADERSHIP Business Person of the Year 2022 in the forthcoming LEADERSHIP Conference and Awards which would hold on January 31, 2023 at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, FCT.
This honour is on the backdrop of her leading role in MOJEC becoming the largest indigenous manufacturer, distributor, installer of smart metering and energy solutions services provider in sub-Saharan Africa as well as playing a leading role in government’s mass metering effort.
Chantelle’s Big Dreams
Registered in 1985, Mojec International Holdings has grown to become Africa’s leading electricity engineering procurement and construction (EPC) contractor to the electricity distribution companies and other African utilities on transmission and distribution of projects. Her vision is to float the company on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) to give it an international stature.
With a network of engineers and installers, she has grown the market share from 20 per cent to 80 per cent with eight of the 11 utilities in Nigeria as clients. Over the years, she has led MJOEC to become the largest manufacturer, distributor, installer of smart metering, power generation and energy solutions services provider in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“No single company has contributed largely to closing the metering gap in Nigeria as MOJEC has done. Today, MOJEC has produced and installed over one million smart meters in Nigeria with footprints in nine out of the eleven power distribution companies (DisCos) across the country,” stated Ms. Abdul.
With ambitious future plans for growth, she aims to further entrench company’s leadership in the Nigerian power sector through research and development, training in human capital and investment in infrastructure, our people, products and processes. Ms. Chantelle Abdul has grown MOJEC International Holdings from a small family-owned business in Nigeria into an energy business that has helped modernize Nigeria’s electricity market. Now, she’s thinking even bigger.
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