The Federal Government has declared that electricity distribution companies must replace any meter phased out due to a meter upgrade. It declared this through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
It clarified that though there is no directive to phase out Unistar meters as claimed, they (meters) will soon be out of operation due to an upgrade in technology, and its users will not be able to vend.
The commission stated that any meter currently being replaced by Discos must be substituted to ensure no disruption to customers’ metering needs.
As Nigeria struggles to close the seven million metering gap, some Discos have insisted that customers must get new meters before a November 14 deadline.
Speaking with The PUNCH, the Vice Chairman of NERC, Musiliu Oseni, stated that there was no official directive yet on phasing out Unistar meters, stressing that the issue of phasing them out is currently being handled operationally by the Discos. Oseni noted that the issue has to do with the Token Identifier Rollover.