Ikeja Electric Plc (IE), an electricity distribution company in Lagos, says customers can get prepaid meters within 24 hours.
In a statement, the company said the one-day metering initiative, which commenced on Tuesday at its Shomolu business unit for customers in Ilupeju, Oworo and Igbobi areas of Lagos state, is being done in collaboration with MOJEC International Ltd.
Felix Ofulue, the company’s head of corporate communications, said the programme, under the meter asset provider (MAP) scheme, was to ensure that customers who were willing to make payments for their prepaid meters were metered as quickly as possible.
According to him, the federal government of Nigeria had initiated the national mass metering programme (NMMP) to install free prepaid meters for customers to bridge the metering gap in the country.
He said Ikeja Electric had completed phase zero of the programme, adding that while waiting for the next phase to begin, the mobile MAP scheme would serve as an alternative for customers ready to pay for meters.
“So, we advise customers to take advantage of the initiative by Ikeja Electric and MOJEC to get metered because we are ready to ensure that the process is done and completed within 24 hours,” Ofulue said.
He also warned customers to shun energy theft and meter bypass, stressing that anybody caught engaging in such nefarious activities would be dealt with according to the regulations governing the electricity sector.
On her part, Chantelle Abdul, group managing director of MOJEC, said the mobile MAP scheme was designed to bring the metering process closer to people’s doorsteps.
“The MAP scheme is for customers who can afford to pay for meters and don’t want to wait for the NMMP, which is the free metering programme,” Abdul said.
“We will be going to several places. In fact, Shomolu is our first stop but not the last stop. We are going to set up other business units under the Ikeja Electric network within the next few weeks.”
Last year, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) increased the prices of both single-phase and three-phase prepaid electricity meters.