THE Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) has urged customers across its franchise areas to upgrade prepaid meters by November 24, 2024.

This was disclosed via a statement by the organisation posted on its official X handle on Thursday, September 28.

“In line with global metering standards and in compliance with NERC’s directive, Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc. (AEDC) has commenced the process of updating prepaid meters across our franchise area.

“Effective 24th November 2024, prepaid meters that are not updated will no longer accept energy tokens. In other words, any prepaid meter that is not updated will be unable to support power supply,”

AEDC noted that the upgrade would not affect tariff bands and would be free of charge. The statement also disclosed that neither units available on the meter nor other functionalities would be affected during the process.

“In the upcoming days, we will provide detailed information regarding the update process and your role in ensuring its success. We urge you to stay informed through www.abujaelectricty.com or by reaching out to us via our digital channels listed below,” the statement further read.

In August, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) urged consumers to upgrade their meter before November 2024, stating that there would be issues with recharging units if the upgrade is not carried out.

The directive is not limited to Nigerians alone but also affects all users of the Standard Transfer Specification (STS) software globally, which the meter operates on.

According to the Standard Transfer Specification Association (STSA) in charge of the STS, the upgrade is required to enable meters to install a Token Identification (TID).

The Managing Director (MD), Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) Aliyu Tukur Tahir, the TID determines if a token has been previously used in a prepaid meter.

Ijeoma OPARA

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Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.