The Ikeja Electric, leading electricity suppliers to Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, on Friday, October 30, 2020, began the distribution of 106,000 prepaid meters to customers across its six Business Units – Ikeja, Abule-Egba, Akowonjo, Oshodi, Ikorodu and Shomolu.
The company, which declared this during the flag off of the National Mass Metering Programme, NMMP, in Okota area of Lagos, stated that the metering initiative approved by the Nigerian Government “is designed to ensure a seamless metering process that allows customers to register and be metered on the same day after following due process.”
Restating its commitment to bridging the metering gap by metering all its customers, the company noted that part of the objectives of the NMMP “also include the elimination of arbitrary estimated billing, improving network monitoring capability and provision of data for market administration and investment decision-making.”
For the first phase of the programme, which will run till the end of the year, Head, Corporate Communications, Ikeja Electric, Felix Ofulue, said that the utility firm “is rolling out over 106,000 prepaid meters to customers across its six Business Units – Ikeja, Abule-Egba, Akowonjo, Oshodi, Ikorodu and Shomolu.”
He explained that the beneficiaries of this programme, which will cut across all locations in IE network, will not be required to pay upfront for the installation of meters.
“Rather, the modalities of cost recovery for the meters will be clearly defined and communicated to the beneficiaries.
“The primary objective of the National Mass Metering Program is to increase the metering rate in the country and close the gap of unmetered customers. It is also expected that it will assist in reducing Collection losses, while at the same time, increasing financial flows to achieve 100 percent market remittance obligation of the DisCos,” Ofulue said.
“Apart from its job creation potentials in the Meter value chain, the program will further strengthen the local meter value chain by increasing local meter manufacturing, assembly and deployment capacity, all in support of Nigeria’s economic recovery plan.
“Once again, Ikeja Electric wishes to restate its commitment to bridging the metering gap by metering all its customers, to ensure an efficiently managedg electricity supply industry that meets the yearnings of Nigerians.”
