The Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) announced plans to install over 55,000 free prepaid meters under Tranche B of the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) and Phase 1 of the Distribution Sector Recovery Program (DISREP).
IBEDC in a statement by the company’s coordinating head, Corporate Services, Angela Olanrewaju, said the two initiatives are part of the IBEDC’s free prepaid meter installation exercise towards closing the metering gap.
The statement said in the exercise, a total of 33,450 smart meters will be deployed under the MAF Tranche B, while 22,104 meters will be deployed under Phase 1 of the DISREP.
IBEDC said the meter rollout under MAF prioritises unmetered customers on Band A feeders, while DISREP will prioritise both Bands A and B, adding that both the meters and the installation process are entirely free and warning customers not to pay any money to an installer or IBEDC staff.
“The meters are completely free, and installation is also free. Customers must not make any form of payment to anyone. Anyone requesting money should be reported via [email protected] or [email protected],” it said.
IBEDC added: “The MAF initiative is funded by IBEDC through a market-supported mechanism established by NERC to enable DisCos to close the metering gap across the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
“The scheme complements the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) and is designed to accelerate nationwide metering. It will run concurrently with the MAP scheme, but unlike MAP, MAF meters come at no cost to customers.
“Customers do not need to apply, register, or visit our offices for the MAF scheme. Deployment is being done systematically.” IBEDC urged its customers to grant installers access to their premises upon presenting a valid ID during the exercise,
stating that, “denying access for meter installation may result in disconnection as directed by NERC.”
IBEDC also cautioned against tampering with or bypassing the new meters.
It noted that such acts constitute energy theft and attract serious penalties saying, “we urge customers to cooperate fully so we can serve them better.”
IBEDC stated that customers with outstanding arrears are encouraged to visit the nearest IBEDC office for resolution (to settle such arrears to aid seamless migration to prepayment mode), and that arrears will not disqualify anyone from receiving a free meter under this scheme.
