The Federal Government has launched the Power Force Programme (PFP) to train 5,000 young Nigerians as professional meter technicians and installers towards building a more transparent, accountable and sustainable electricity sector to deliver improved service to Nigerians.

Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, who was speaking at the official flag-off of the programme in Abuja, under the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI), described it as landmark event that shows the government’s determination to transform the electricity sector by investing both in infrastructure and people.

He said, apart from the programme being targeted to improve the power sector, it would not only create employment for the youths, but also equip them with future-ready technical skills that support local content development and stimulate economic growth.

The minister said inadequate metering remained one of the biggest structural challenges affecting the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), contributing in no small measure to the sector’s long-standing liquidity crisis.

Tegbe restated President Bola Tinubu’s administration commitment to ensure that electricity consumers and customers only pay for the energy they consume while service providers receive payment for electricity genuinely supplied. He added that the administration remains unwavering in its commitment to closing Nigeria’s metering gap.

He stated that metering not only has a multiplier effect across the value chain but it removes disputes, replaces estimation with accuracy, uncertainty with confidence and suspicion with trust. He urged the first batch of trainees to approach the programme with discipline and professionalism, saying they are pioneers of a new generation of highly skilled professionals who will play a defining role in modernising Nigeria’s electricity industry.

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Tegbe said: “One of the greatest structural challenges confronting the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry is the persistent liquidity deficit. Every segment of the value chain depends upon timely and adequate revenue collection. Yet, for many years, inadequate metering has denied the sector the financial certainty required to sustain investment, improve service delivery and expand electricity access.

“Where electricity consumed cannot be accurately measured, revenue cannot be accurately collected. Where revenue is uncertain, investments decline, infrastructure deteriorates, and ultimately, consumers suffer. The metering gap, therefore, is not just a technical problem; it is one of the principal causes of the liquidity challenges that have constrained the growth of our power sector.

“The administration of His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, fully appreciates this reality. Since assuming office, Mr President has pursued bold and audacious reforms designed to restore financial sustainability across the electricity market while ensuring that fairness, transparency and accountability remain at the heart of the system.

“His guiding principle is both simple and just: every Nigerian deserves to pay only for the actual electricity consumed, and every service provider deserves to be paid for the electricity genuinely supplied. That principle is what smart metering makes possible.

He added: “Metering has a multiplier effect across the value chain. Metering removes disputes. It replaces estimation with accuracy, uncertainty with confidence and suspicion with trust. It empowers consumers to manage their electricity usage whilst providing DisCos with reliable revenue streams to improve service delivery. In doing so, it strengthens the entire Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

“This is why the Federal Government has continued to prioritise interventions aimed at restoring liquidity and consumer confidence across the market. Through ongoing reforms, improved market discipline, settlement initiatives and targeted financial interventions, we are addressing legacy challenges whilst laying the foundations for a

commercially viable electricity industry capable of attracting sustained private investment.

“The 5,000 young Nigerians being trained under this initiative will become the backbone of Nigeria’s smart metering workforce. They will help ensure that millions of households and businesses receive professionally installed meters that meet the highest

technical and safety standards.