Customers protest Discos’ plan to retrieve prepaid meters

Electricity distribution company customers are protesting the company’s efforts to seize prepayment metres for an update.

Recently, the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company notified its clients via Facebook that it will start collecting a set of pre-paid metres for upgrading.

Dear excellent clients, read the flyer from the disco. Please be aware that as part of the ongoing metre upgrade, we will be collecting prepaid metres with metre numbers 62417 and 62418 from our clients.metre no, starting with 6321…This will allow us to modernise.

“To retrieve the metres, our field employees will go to the impacted customers’ properties.”

The company added that old tokens wouldn’t be deleted from the metres and that the metre will be returned once the upgrading was finished.

The information, however, did not sit well with its clients.

A customer of the Disco named Olatinwo Multimedia suggested that codes be offered instead.

“That’s utter rubbish. A link where the metre codes will be posted for updates should be provided. The idea of taking away already-installed prepaid metres is absurd and impossible. He questioned, “Who does that?”

Olaanipekun Henrym, a different client, advised employees of IBEDC “not to approach close” his home.

No one should approach my home since you folks are unreliable. Nobody will update my number, which is 62418, though. I’m confident that any attempt to take it away won’t result in its return in a year, he remarked.

Akinyemi Tayo asserted that it was unwise to put any faith in the Disco.

“Walahi, you folks want to rob us once more by raising the tariff so that it can complete on schedule. This behaviour is nasty. God will put an end to it shortly, he declared.

According to people with direct knowledge of the situation, other Discos might improve problematic metres by taking similar steps.

I said so. IBEDC cannot improve itself. One Oni Kunle asked, “Can you image doing it manually and hope that thieves won’t take it over.

In her additional statement, Muraina Akeem Olatunji said that the Disco was “taking their consumers like idiots, abi?”

Adewusi Ayodele, who claimed to have upgraded his metre using a code provided by the disco, brought a twist to the discussion when he said that following a new recharge, he had received a token that was less valuable.

“Good morning, IBEDC. I recharged for N6,000, but instead I received a token for 43.04 units. These new tariffs/charges are confusing to me. Please explain,” he said.

Rasaq Adebayo voiced concern that if customers permitted the Disco to take the metre away, it might not be restored until six months had passed.

Customers whose metres would be retrieved will be switched to post-paid metres for the duration, according to IBEDC spokesperson Adebusolami Tunwase.

“The details are clear. The afflicted metre series are identified, and the software update is for metres that are rejecting upgrade codes.

“They will be installed with post-paid metres that need payment throughout that time. As the renovation is finished, the metres will be given back. The renovation will last until November, as you are aware,” she added.

In a statement, Sunday Oduntan, a representative for the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, called the planned retrieval “absurd” and denounced it.

In the meantime, enquiries regarding the recovery of some metres were not answered by spokespersons for the Eko Electricity Distribution Company, Babatunde Lasaki, the Kano Electricity Distribution Company, Bala Sani, or the Corporate Communications division of the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company.

TheNigerian quoted metering specialist Sesan Okunade as saying that the update provided by IBEDC was a result of changes required by the STS compliance metre in the electricity industry.

“This suggests that the TID rollover. By the 24th of November 2024, every one of our smart metres that complies with the STS is anticipated to roll over to zero, meaning that if you do not upgrade, it might no longer be functional.

“So, normally, each Disco would generate a key change token for each customer when they made purchases, but I’m confident that this class of metres with these precise numbers are specific to a particular metre supplier, which is suffering a defect. They could have to do it offline, and they might even need to bring them to their offices.

“Other discos may follow suit if they have also used this supplier, if they have. The Discos themselves were unaware at the time those metres were bought because the market was oversaturated with various kinds of metres. Say, towards the end of last year, they learned about it. Therefore, the metre supplier must have given upgrade codes to be completed offline, he said.

In response to questions from The Nigerian, Chijioke James, president of the Electricity Consumers Association of Nigeria, remained mum.

He stated, “I am still outside the nation and can only reply after consulting with colleagues on the ground.

Usman Arabi, the spokeswoman for the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, stated that the agency would keep watch over the Discos’ operations to make sure that they benefit both the electricity market and the customers.