Eko Electricity Distribution Company says it has commenced the distribution of free prepaid meters to Band A customers within its franchise area.
The company said this is part of the continuous effort to bridge the metering gap in Nigeria under the Meter Acquisition Fund scheme.
“In its continuous effort to bridge the metering gap, Eko Electricity Distribution Company has commenced the distribution of free prepaid meters to Band A customers within its franchise area under the Meter Acquisition Fund scheme,” a statement by the EKEDC General Manager of Corporate Communications, Babatunde Lasaki, stated on Monday.
According to him, the exercise will be carried out within the next 60 days.
It involved the replacement of obsolete meters at no cost to the Band A customers, while unmetered Band A customers will be metered free of charge.
The Meter Acquisition Fund scheme is an initiative of the Federal Government under the Presidential Metering Initiative designed to provide meters to Band A customers at no cost.
The scheme aims to replace faulty meters and accelerate the migration of postpaid customers to prepaid. The process is monitored by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Lasaki expressed the company’s readiness and commitment to metering eligible customers within the 60-day timeline of the project.
“We encourage all our Band A customers with obsolete and faulty meters to proceed to our website to apply for a replacement at no cost. If you are a postpaid customer under any of our Band A feeders, please apply, and we will meter you immediately,” he explained.
Lasaki noted further that the MAF scheme does not nullify the Meter Asset Provider scheme, but is running simultaneously, which allows customers to purchase their meters and get a refund of the cost over time, stressing that the MAF is an intervention of the Federal Government to address the metering challenges for Band A customers.
He also clarified that the MAF scheme is not just for Band A customers but the first tranche is solely for Band A customers.
“The MAF scheme isn’t only for Band A customers, however, this is the first tranche of the intervention and is solely for Band A customers. Other tranches will commence soon which will cut across our customer base”, he added.
He commended the Federal Government’s interventions in bridging the metering gap and improving the performance of the entire power sector.
The PUNCH reports that the Federal Government is still struggling to close the 7 million metering gap despite various interventions.
