Eko Disco raises prepaid meter price by 60%

Electricity consumers seeking to transit from the old metering system to the prepaid metering under Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) are to pay almost twice the initial price of the meter to get hooked up.

Godwin Idimudia, the manager, corporate affairs of EKEDC, confirmed to BusinessDay on Monday that the company has raised the price of the meter from about N25,000 to N39,375, an increase of about 60 percent.

“The cost of meter now is N39,375. We have new smart meters now that can be read directly from our various offices to guide against tampering and other vices. It is also in the interest of the customers that they will now be paying for exactly the energy consumed,” said Idimudia.

Owing to estimated electricity billing of consumers across the country, pressure has been mounting on

the Discos to roll out prepaid meters that will ensure that customers pay accurately for what they consume.

But the increase in the price of the meter is coming amid complaints by electricity consumers against poor power supply in Lagos. There are two electricity distribution companies in Lagos, Eko and Ikeja Discos.

The price increase was raised unannounced as electricity consumers who applied under the old regime are being requested to make up the balance or wait endlessly. This was also confirmed to BusinessDay at the Festac Town office of EKEDC. “The meters available go for N39, 375,” said an official in Festac office.

An applicant, who had filled a form for the prepaid meter, and was to make payment based of about N25,000 was last week told the rate no longer applies. The increase, it was gathered, may have to do with the volume of applications for the prepaid meters. Over 5,000 applications are said to be pending at the Festac office of EKEDC alone since June this year.

Over 80 percent of electricity consumers in Nigeria still pay estimated bills as obtained in the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) and Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN). The implication of this is that there is a huge gap between what is consumed and what is paid for. While some pay far above what they consume monthly, others, however, pay less. BusinessDay gathered that of about 430,000 meters in use in Lagos, only about 6,000 are paying bills.

Businessday