Yemisi Izuora
The Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) has commenced the distribution of free prepaid meters to Band A customers within its franchise area under the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) scheme.
The Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) scheme is an initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria under the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) designed to provide meters to Band A customers at no cost. It aims to replace faulty meters and accelerate the migration of postpaid customers to prepaid.
The process is monitored by the industry regulator, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The General Manager, Corporate Communications of EKEDC, Babatunde Lasaki, expressed the Company’s readiness and commitment to metering eligible customers within the 60-day timeline of the project. He said “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”.
Lasaki noted further that the MAF scheme does not nullify the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme, but it is running simultaneously which allows customers to purchase their meters and get refunded the cost over time, but the MAF is an intervention of the Federal Government to address the metering challenges 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.
Lasaki closed by commending the Federal Government’s many interventions in bridging the metering gap and improving the performance of the entire power sector.
EKEDC is a leader in technology, customer experience and service excellence, and boasts of its leadership in the electricity distribution space as it ranks top of many performance indicators by the electricity market regulator, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).