Following the completion of the pilot scheme of the advanced meter installation phase, which began in June, the Ikeja Electric has announced plans to commence the second phase of the project, which will lead to the monthly installation of 10,000 meters for customers from this month.
This move, which the company says is in line with its mass meter rollout programme, is expected to result in the installation of 15,000 meters every month in five years’ time, adding that 6,000 meters were installed during the pilot scheme.
The Chief Executive Officer, Ikeja Electric, Mr. Abiodun Ajifowobaje, told journalists in Lagos on Monday that the meters were designed to enhance efficient energy usage and transparent billing in real time.
He said the rollout represented a remarkable step in the company’s quest for redefining service delivery, adding, “This development resonates with our New Spirit, New Drive and New Energy identity, as we strive to create value for our customers.”
Ajifowobaje explained, “Ikeja Electric’s advanced meter infrastructure is a state-of-the-art technology that enables utilities to read, disconnect and connect meters remotely and to detect individual customer outages quickly, using a wireless communications network.
“The metering project will replace today’s meters with next generation electronic meter technology that improves customer service and enables customers to proactively manage their energy use and save money by giving them the power to control how much electricity they use against how much electricity they pay for.”
According to him, the scope of the metering project is to deploy approximately 300,000 electric meters for residential, commercial and industrial customers between September 2015 and December 2016, with installation of significant number of meters monthly in already mapped out areas in all the business units of the company.
Apart from more frequent and accurate energy consumption information, the advanced metering system is capable of collecting a variety of other data such as power outages, restoration alerts and meter tampering data to detect theft of energy, he added.
PUNCH