The process of obtaining a meter.


They say its a 45 working days wait till the meter arrives, this is somewhat debatable. For some it is true, for others its not true. The truth is that you need to visit the nepa office or know a bigwig there to chase up the meters for you. Sometimes its in a batch of meters that has not been released or programmed.

For the Lekki area, the NEPA office where it all happens is the one at Agungi, just by the express (with a substation there, painted yellowish cream).

1. This applies to EKDC, other electricity distribution companies might be the same or different.

2. First of all you complete the form with all the details of the property, the technical details such as the horse power etc, I left that for my electrician to complete since I wasn’t sure and didn’t want to get it wrong.

3. The form needs to be stamped by an electrical contractor, any experienced electrical contractor with the correct stamp can do this. Alternatively you can go to your nearest business unit or NEPA office and get them to do this for you. It comes at a cost of between N5k – 10K per form, depending on how well you can negotiate.

4. They do say that a MIZ inspector needs to come and inspect the property before and after the meter installation. This is just a ruse to exploit you, tell them to come and inspect as long as you have no skeleton in your cupboard.

5. You then proceed to getting an invoice from the NEPA office, of which you will take that to your nearest Access bank branch to pay for the prepayment meter that has been requested for.

6. After payment, you should have a receipt and some form of a letter or documentation from the bank.

7. At this point onwards, it’s a waiting game. You need to ensure that you have entered your correct phone number within the form and check the slip given to you by NEPA that it has the correct phone number.

8. The phone number you provided is what they will call you on once your meter is ready.

9. Between the time of payment and getting your meter, you need to ensure that the following is in place.

A. Wiring for the house
B. Load wiring for the house, for example the cable that feeds the meters and goes to the change over boxes if you have one.
C. You also need to ensure that the location of where the meter will be is an open and accessible place, this is because the NEPA officials can come for random inspections for those who tamper with the meters.
D. Placing your meter location in a place that is locked or not accessible will not work, they will probably request that the location be changed or the meter will not be installed, this will cost you extra in terms of cabling and delays. So the planning is very important here.

10. Before the meter is installed, the installer will call you and perhaps visit the site to check that the site is ready for meter installation. If any changes are required, they will tell you. It’s a good idea to ensure that your electrician is there at this stage, so that they can state what should be done, i.e. run 10mm or 16mm cables for the load or perhaps use a recline cable or the need for a busbar to distribute to the various meters.

11. On the day of the meter installation, the installer will turn up with the meters, a top up point and also the antenna for each meter.

12. If your meter order consists of different types of meters, for example a combination of single phase and three phase then it is likely that it will not be installed at the same time or it could be different people who will do the installation.

13. Even though within the money paid per meter, there is an installation fee element, nothing as a free lunch in Nigeria, and the likelihood is that the installers will need to be settled as well.

14. Ensure that the meter is tested.

15. Ensure that the CIU, consumer interface unit is tested. This only works on mains power (NEPA) and you cannot charge it using a generator.






CC: Lalasticlala Seun ishilove LAwyer
Might be useful for some

What is the purpose of the customer interface unit?

This is how you top up your meter with credit. You enter some codes from the comfort of your home and the meter receives the credit.

battleaxe:
What is the purpose of the customer interface unit?

Dear Sirs,

Hello from Turkey. In Lagos, l had some projects which needs power like lifts, revolving adverorial boards, revolving stands. And generally l experienced problems about phases (additionally changing voltage, + and minus was exchanging cable lines), and the passages from NEPA to Gen, from Gen to NEPA.

Is there anyone who may clear this points?

Best Regards,
Eng Kayhan Benek
+905327607234
www.bilginmuhendisliktr.com