In the frenzy to grab the opportunity of getting free meters under the new free mass metering programme, many unmetered customers may have become easy preys to scammers.

The Enugu Electricity Distribution Company Plc ,EEDC, has therefore cautioned its customers against activities of scammers and unscrupulous individuals who are already taking advantage of the just commenced National Mass Metering Programme, NMMP, to swindle unsuspecting customers of their money.

The note of caution was sounded over the weekend by the Head, Corporate Communications, EEDC, Mr Emeka Ezeh.

Ezeh lamented that barely a week after the commencement of the free mass metering programme, the company has started receiving reports of customers who have been scammed in their bid to get metered quickly.

Ezeh had in a statement issued last week explained that the modalities for deployment of meters would be according to feeders and distribution substations, and that information on this would be made available to customers as the exercise progressed

He disclosed that about 400 customers have so far been metered in less than two weeks of the commencement of this metering exercise and appealed to customers to be patient as this metering programme which comes at no cost would definitely get to all customers.

He emphasized that unlike the arrangement with the MAP metering scheme where customers had to apply and pay to be metered, there is no online or offline application in this mass metering exercise.
The EEDC spokesman also added that there is no application form, no processing fee and no meter installation cost.

“We need to appreciate and acknowledge that the metering gap in the country is quite huge and that is why the Federal Government in its wisdom came up with the National Mass Metering Program ,NMMP, to consciously close the existing metering gap, and customers are not expected to pay to be metered,” he declared.

“We all know that times are hard and some elements in our society have taken to all sorts of nefarious activities to survive, not minding the effects on the system and other citizens. Hence the call for caution.

” There is no way all the unmetered electricity customers can be metered in this initial phase of the metering exercise; it will happen gradually and we appeal to our customers to be patient and avoid becoming prey to these dubious elements.”

He then implored all their customers to cooperate with EEDC in its efforts to serve them better stressing that they should not hesitate in reporting any EEDC staff that is requesting them to pay any amount of money to get metered.

Ezeh expressed EEDC’s commitment to ensuring that the NMMP, which is an initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria succeeded, and this he said could only be actualized with the support and cooperation of customers.

EEDC kicked off its mass metering exercise penultimate week, using select feeders under its Ogui and Abakpa Districts as pilot.