Electricity consumers in nine of the 17 local government areas in Abia State which make up the Aba Ring-fenced Area can easily have their prepaid meters in less than three weeks, according to the Chief Commercial Officer of Aba Power which provides electricity to the ringed fence.

Engineer Blessing Ogbe, the Aba Power Chief Commercial Officer, told the two-day Ist Conference on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) on Market Opportunities for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) at the Technology Incubation Centre in Aba, Aba State, that the process of obtaining prepaid meters from the Aba electricity distribution firm takes even months for some electricity users because they do not follow the right process.

The power company launched last May the Aba Power Mass Metering Programme (APMMP) to provide prepaid meters to consumers without paying any deposit, promising to make them available within 10 working days after a customers request.

10 working days are in practice two weeks because of the work-free days during the weekend and the Monday Sit-at-home campaign in the five Southeastern states by some non-state actors, Engr Ogbe explained to the participants at the conference on how businesses in the Southeast and the South-south geopolitical zones of Nigeria can key into the opportunities provided by the regional free trade agreement which Nigeria, Africas largest economy, signed in 2021.

Some customers collect the Aba Power Ltd account number (not a bank account) and go home, expecting us to come to their homes and businesses premises and provide the meters.

Engr Ogbe said that the company wouldnt know that such persons are waiting for Aba Power and its partners in their places to install prepaid meters unless they send the completed form to any of its offices.

Once the completed account number is submitted to Aba Power, he explained, the company would send a team to assess the electricity needs of the customer.

He said: Contrary to popular thinking, the electricity may not have to do with the size of a structure.

An ice block maker operating in a single room or two may opt for a single-phase meter which can burn easily as a result of overloading whereas another person living in a bigger place may need a single phase meter.

An industrialist will definitely need a different kind of meter.

Ifeanyi Odumoko, another engineer with Aba Power, told journalists that some customers use unqualified electricians to bring out their wires and cables in blocks of flats where different consumers share one meter to quicken the process of meter installation for them, but noted that the error delays the installation.

Aba Power is providing each flat or shop a separate meter to promote accountability and transparency, but the failure to use competent and experienced technicians to bring out their wires for us to install prepaid meters makes the job a little more difficult for us, he observed.

Both Engineers Ogbe and Odumuko assured that customers can get their prepaid meters once they follow the right process which they said has been explained several times inthe companys enlightenment campaign in the mass media and in direct engagements with members of the public.

The N20bn Aba Power Mass Metering Programme, carried out in partnership with some meter vendors, is ongoing in the Aba Township Feeder which covers an area of seven kilometers route length.