Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
The deadline given by Ikeja Electric Plc to its customers to upgrade their prepaid meters with Standard Transfer Specification (STS) software for vending has been extended.
The electricity distribution company had asked consumers in its coverage area to upgrade their STS meter on or before Tuesday, October 31, 2023.
It had said any customer who fails to upgrade his/her prepaid meter by linking it with a National Identification Number (NIN) would be unable to vend energy units from November 1, 2023.
Ikeja Electric provided a link for the exercise, available at smartkyc.ikejaelectric.com/nin_index.xhtml, but some days before the expiration of the deadline, several customers said they encountered difficulties in linking their NIN to their meter.
Some electricity users also claimed the portal for the process was down, while others said they received error messages like Error encountered while validating NIN and others while attempting to complete the process.
Apparently after reviewing the complaints, the energy firm has now extended the deadline by two weeks.
Ikeja Electric confirmed this development in a message on Wednesday, which was obtained by Business Post.
In the notice to its customers, the company said the STS-NIN linkage can now be done on or before Wednesday, November 15, 2023.
“Ikeja Electric extends STS Meter-NIN link till 15th November 2023.
“Our customers first and always.
“Kindly upgrade your STS prepaid meter now via smartkyc.ikejaelectric.com/nin_index.xhtml,” the message read.
This newspaper gathered that the upgrade of the STS meters is global, but the deadline is November 2024.
According to Ikeja Electric, it is using the upgrade to gather details of its consumers. It noted that prepaid meter users, especially tenants, would be able to unlink their NIN from the meters whenever they are vacating the property.
The electricity distribution company has made it difficult for the movement of prepaid meters from one location to another.
According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), prepaid meters are to be provided by electricity distribution firms, including Ikeja Electric, but because of their inability to do this, a window was created to allow customers to purchase the meters, with the condition that the amount for the procurement would be refunded via energy credits.
