Ikeja Electric (IE) Plc has installed about 105,000 prepaid meters for customers under its network through the federal government’s National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP).
Mr Felix Ofulue, Head, Corporate Communications, IE, confirmed the development to newsmen on Sunday in Ikeja.
Ofulue said that the figure indicated that the company provided meter for over 99 per cent of its 106,701 customers scheduled for metering under the phase zero of the NMMP.
He said: “We have so far metered 105,000 customers under the NMMP and we are appealing to others yet to get their meters to be patient.
“The process of installing prepaid meters is ongoing and have not been discontinued as being insinuated by some persons.
“We are anticipating that the Phase One of the NMMP will begin soon which will give us opportunity to meter more customers.
“Our vision at Ikeja Electric is for all customers to be metered as quickly as possible and those yet to be metered will definitely be metered.”
Ofulue, however advised customers to desist from energy theft through bypassing of their prepaid meters.
He said the company would deal with anybody caught engaged in the act according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) regulations.
Ofulue also appealed to the customers to help the DisCo protect its electrical installations from vandals and energy thieves through its recently inaugurated whistle blower programme.
The federal government had on October 30, 2020 flagged off the phase zero of the NMMP targeting to meter one million electricity customers nationwide.
The programme is aimed at meeting the target of closing the metering gap in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry by December 2021.
It would assist in reducing collection losses, while at the same time increasing financial flows to achieve 100 per cent market remittance obligation of the DisCos.
Part of the objectives also include the elimination of arbitrary estimated billing, improving network monitoring capability and provision of data for market administration and investment decision-making.