Only 40 percent of Nigerians have access to electricity and less than half of those people receive their power through meters that measure how much electricity they use. In Abuja, the capital, stealing and overcharging for electricity usage are common practices - so much so that officials say the problem amounts to a national emergency.
在尼日利亚，只有百分之40的尼日利亚人能够用上电，其中只有不到一半的人是通过测量电量的电表来用电。在尼日利亚商业首都阿布贾，偷电以及多收电费的情况司空见惯，以致于官员们表示这个问题成为整个国家的紧急事务。
At a hearing in the Nigerian capital, a panel of energy officials listens while community members report on their electricity woes, which are many and common among urban Nigerians. In the rural areas, access to electricity is not all that common.
在尼日利亚首都的一次听证会上，一些能源官员听取社区居民报告他们用电的痛苦经历，他们的经历对于很多尼日利亚城市的居民来说都很寻常。在尼日利亚农村地区，能用上电就很不寻常。
Joel Oziri says he is charged almost $20 a week for electricity that is available just a few hours a day. He paid for a meter years ago, so the electric company could measure his usage, but it never arrived. When he demanded they deliver the meter before he would pay, his electrical power was cut.
乔埃尔•奥兹里表示，他一个星期的电费差不多20美元，而每天供电时间只有几个小时。他几年前就要花钱安电表，这样电力公司就能够测量他使用的电量，但是电表从来没有安好。当他要求供电公司先装电表，然后他才缴费之后，他的电力供应被切断。
“They will cut off and tell you, you have the right to pay. Whether you like or not, you have to pay it. Which is unfair,” said Oziri.
他说：“他们会断电，然后告诉你你有缴费的义务。不管你喜欢与否，你都得缴费。这是不公平的。”
Officials say complaints like this are only part of why metering is a key factor in developing the electricity sector, which is essential to developing Nigeria. The lack of electrical power plays a role in almost every problem Nigeria faces - from security, to poor national health, to economic problems. Nigeria is Africa’s most populous country and largest oil exporter, but it does not have refineries to make use of its own oil supply.
官员们表示，类似这样的抱怨反映出为什么电表计价是该国发展电力的一个关键因素。开发电力是发展尼日利亚必不可少的环节。尼日利亚面临的几乎每个问题都跟缺电有关，无论是安全问题，国民健康状况很差，还是经济问题。尼日利亚是非洲人口最多的国家，也是最大的石油出口国，但是本国却没有炼油厂来加工本国需要的石油供应。
As the Nigerian government seeks to privatize the energy sector to boost electrical output, officials say customers can steal electricity and companies can overcharge for usage because many electrical connections are not metered.
尼日利亚政府寻求把能源部门私有化，以此来提高电力产出。官员们表示，消费者能够偷电，电力公司也可以多收电费，因为很多电力连接输送环节都没有电表的测量。Metering
Shittu Shaibu is the strategy and project manager at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission. He says without more metering, the addition of private companies to Nigeria’s electricity sector will lead to an explosion of lawsuits. He says the current system could also open the door for international corporations to exploit regular Nigerians.
尼日利亚电力监管委员会的战略和项目主任沙伊布说，必须安装更多的电表，否则会有大量法律纠纷。他说，现在的体系也会为国际公司剥削尼日利亚人打开大门。
"Metering is critical because without metering, the distribution companies cannot first and foremost get their revenue," said Shaibu. "And secondly, there will be a lot of exploitation of the customers."
他说：“计量设施非常关键，因为没有计量，送电公司就无法第一时间获得收入，其次，会产生大量对消费者的欺诈剥削。”
Shaibu says 60 percent of the people who have access to electricity are not metered and this lack of organization can discourage potential investors.
沙伊布表示，用电者当中，百分之60的人没有计量电表，这种缺乏良好组织的情况会让潜在的投资者望而却步。
Other Nigerians say metering energy is important, but not nearly as important as finding a way to get electricity into their homes. Alexander Akinwale, a shop owner who lives in the capital, says his neighborhood has not had electricity for the past two years.
一些尼日利亚人则表示，能源计量固然很重要，但是要首先让电力进入他们的家庭。亚历山大•阿金瓦勒是生活在首都的一家店主。他说，他的邻居过去两年一直用不上电。
“The first issue now is to have the light. When we have the light then any issue of or any challenges that come, we will tackle it,” said Akinwale.
他说：“当务之急是有电可用。当我们点上电灯，然后我们会解决任何问题或者任何由此产生的挑战。”
Industry regulators say they are conducting a nationwide inquiry on electrical metering. They say they are devising a plan to solve the metering problem, regardless of whose interests may be at stake.
电力工业管理者表示，他们正在全国范围内调查电表的情况。他们说，不论装电表对谁更有利，他们正在制定解决电表问题的计划。