Electricity: Consumers to pay for meters through credit recharge, says JED

By Kingsley Chukwuka

The Jos Electricity Distribution Company, (JED), has said customers seeking to escape estimated billing now have the opportunity to procure meters and pay when they buy unit to recharge their meters.

The power company said the effort was introduced to assist customers to be metered as well as assist the company, since the cost of meter has become capital intensive.

“When you buy credit worth of N2000 for instance, we will credit you with N3000 unit, until you finish paying for the meter, JED said.

The power company disclosed this on Saturday in Jos during a launch of a Mobile MAP tagged “Meter Access Provider”, a campaign that accommodates the scheme.

Speaking during the launch, the Managing Director JED Plc, Alhaji Mammanlafia Umar, called on customers to size the opportunity to be metered.

Umar who said the programme was already being implemented in other franchise States of JED said the aim is to ensure that all customers within its jurisdiction are metered.

Represented by the Director of Commercial JED, Engr Mansir Nakande, Umar said the importance of meter to consumers cannot be over emphasised.

According to him: “All our customers without meters are insisting that they are being overcharged. We cannot say with certainty that customers are right or wrong. There are lots of challenges with estimation.

“There are also challenges of liquidity because we needed a lot of money to buy meters which is why the Meter Access Providers’ was introduced for the customers to buy meters stressing that the company will refund the customers with energy.

“Any month the customer comes to buy a unit, we will refund the customer with the unit. For example, if you buy a unit of 2000 you will be given a unit worth 3000 until the money is fully refunded”, Umar said.

JED, allayed customers’ fear for availability of MAP meters, assuring that the meters are readily available.

“We have them and today we are launching the MOJEC brand. We have multiple vendors and we shall continue to launch until all our customers are fully informed and metered”, he explained.

He continued: “We already have 3-4 customers even before the relaunch started and we are going to install their meters immediately, adding that the idea behind the mobile meters was to ensure expeditious metering of customers within 24hrs of payment.

“Customers will be profiled and survey will be done immediately so that your meter will be installed without any delay,” Umar assured.