Ikeja Electric (IE) Distribution Company has issued a looming deadline, putting pressure on its customers to upgrade their Standard Transfer Specification (STS) prepaid meters.
News About Nigeria gathered that the upgrade is essential to prevent issues with loading energy tokens, which could arise from November 1, 2023, when the DisCo is set to initiate its Token Identifier (TID) rollover.
IE is the only distribution company that has requested its customers with STS meters to provide their National Identification Number (NIN) details as part of the requirements for the upgrade.
Previously, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had announced the need for prepaid meter upgrades before November 2024, as highlighted on its social media handle, ‘X’.
However, Emeka Ojoko, a lawyer and coordinator of ‘NEPA WAHALA NG’, a power sector consumer awareness and protection initiative, suggested that the deadline be extended if a sufficient number of customers have not yet complied with the NIN upload requirement.
One customer, @PhilipCKO, expressed dissatisfaction with the poor communication by Ikeja Electric regarding the roll-out, stating, “Such a campaign needs, at least, 90 days prior notice to give room for an easy rollout.”
Adetayo Adegbemle urged Ikeja Electric to consider extending the deadline until January to allow more people to comply and called for increased publicity about the upgrade process.
Globally, it is anticipated that by November 2024, all STS meters will cease accepting credit tokens calculated based on a 1993 base date, and the TID value encoded in the token will be reset to zero, unless an intervention occurs.
It has also been highlighted that extending the current vending and token lifetime beyond 2024 could pose significant security threats to the electricity industry on a global scale.
In August, IE had informed customers that only those who had linked their NIN would receive two sets of 20-digit tokens (KCT one and two) alongside their energy token when vending, starting from November 1, 2023.
The upgrade specifically applies to 20-digit token-enabled STS meters, with smart card meters exempted from the process.
At the time of reporting, over 60 percent of customers have linked their NIN to their prepaid meters, but IE acknowledged that some customers had reservations about providing their NIN details, assuring them of confidentiality.
Kingsley Okotie, Head of Corporate Communications at IE, commended the impressive response from customers and the supportive stance of landlords regarding the upgrade initiative.
