The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has advised power users across the country to start updating their prepaid meters in order to avoid losing the meters by November 2024.
Its advice came as a power distribution company explained that un-updated prepaid meters would stop operating from November next year, adding that this was a global standard for prepaid electricity meters.
In one of its latest posts on X (formerly Twitter), seen on Wednesday, the commission said, “If you have a prepaid meter, it may be time for an update. From November, 2024, you may not be able to recharge your meter. However, updating is easy and free.
“Discos (distribution companies) shall commence issuance of two free Key Change Tokens which will update your meter. The update will not affect the units in your meter nor will it make your meter run faster than usual. Contact your Disco for more information.”
Meanwhile, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company had in a two minute video it shared recently, explained how customers could upgrade their prepaid meters in order to avoid losing the meters in future.
In the snapshot by the Disco, the Head, Non-Maximum Demand Metering, Kaduna Electric, Umar Gumel, said, “This is to inform you about one worldwide development as regards prepaid meters, not in Kaduna Electric alone, not in Nigeria alone, but a worldwide affair.
“STS (Standard Transfer Specification) standard meters will have what they call Roll Over by November 2024. So every meter has to be upgraded to a certain value of standard before that date.
“Otherwise, any meter that fails to receive the upgrade token will cease to operate by November 2024. The implication is that that meter can never work and it can never be used, and so it becomes a loss.”
Gumel went further to explain that “the cost of a three-phase meter as at today stands at N118,000, while that of the single phase is N63,000. So you can see the colossal amount of loss that would happen.”
He said the company was calling for the cooperation and understanding of power users under its franchise areas to reach any of the Disco’s cash offices and ask for the rollover token.
“It will be given to you just like the way you are purchasing your electricity token. You will enter it the way you are entering your electricity token. And once the meter accepts the token, it will upgrade itself automatically.
“I want to call your attention to two of the prominent questions: how about my old token in the meter? It will remain there, it will not be touched. How about the speed of the meter? It is going to remain permanent as before, no increase, no decrease.
“It is only the meter programming system that will be upgraded to avoid the rollover repercusion,” the Kaduna Electric official explained in the video.
In the same vein, the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company recently informed its customers via its Facebook page that it would begin to retrieve a set of prepaid meters for upgrading.
The flyer from the Disco read, “Dear esteemed customers. Kindly be informed that as part of the ongoing meter upgrading, we will be retrieving from our customers, prepaid meters with meter numbers 62417, 62418…and some meter no, starting with 6321…This is to enable us to upgrade.
“Our field staff will visit the affected customers’ properties to retrieve the meters.”
The company further said the meter would be returned once upgrading was concluded, and that old tokens would not be wiped out from the meters.
This information did not, however, go down well with power users who said codes should be provided instead.
They expressed fear that the meter may not be returned until after six months if customers allowed the Disco to take it away.