“We’re In Darkness For Days” – Ikeja Electric Customers Lament Inability To Recharge Prepaid Meters

Customers of Ikeja Electric, one of Nigeria’s top power providers, are frustrated by poor network connectivity, which has prevented them from recharging their electricity meters for the past two days.

This issue arose just days after the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) announced a planned service disruption from October 18 to 21 due to system upgrades.

As of Thursday, it was gathered that many Ikeja Electric customers struggled to recharge their prepaid meters, whether online or at physical outlets. The problem has persisted for days.

In interviews with Vanguard, residents reported ongoing network problems, with all attempts to recharge their meters failing, despite the availability of power.

Ebuka, who lives in Ago-Palace, Okota, shared his frustration: “My electricity ran out on Tuesday, and I’ve been trying to recharge since then, but the network keeps bouncing it back. I had to buy fuel for my generator, even though power is available in my compound. It’s really frustrating that I didn’t top up my meter earlier.”

Ayotunde, a resident of Surulere, near Kilo bus stop, also expressed frustration.

“It’s frustrating. I can’t stay calm anymore. I might have to call them out on social media because I don’t understand why such a minor issue is taking so long to fix,” he said during a phone interview with Vanguard.

Ikeja Electric’s Head of Corporate Communications, Kingsley Okotie, confirmed the issue, explaining that it was part of a larger nationwide network outage affecting various sectors, including banking.

“There is a network failure across Nigeria, impacting several industries, including banks, which is causing many transaction failures. Ikeja Electric is not an exception, but we are working to resolve it,” Okotie said.

When asked about a timeline for resolution, Okotie couldn’t provide a specific answer but assured that efforts were ongoing.

On Thursday, in response to customer complaints on X (formerly Twitter), Ikeja Electric explained that the disruption was due to network outages, apologizing for the inconvenience.

The company said, “We sincerely apologize for your inability to use our payment channels. 

“Our internet service providers are having severe infrastructure issues and we are currently working with them to resolve promptly and restore normalcy as soon as possible.”

See some reactions below:

What's temporary solution. I've been in blackout since yesterday

— Prince Toyeeb Balogun (@toyeeb_20) October 10, 2024

@IkejaElectric and @ieServe
Kindly resolve the issue with your payment platforms. Since yesterday I have not been able to purchase units for my meter. I've exhausted all your payment options yet none is working.
We are in Darkness o!

— Ada Mbaise (@mbaise_ada) October 10, 2024

We can't buy energy Units since morning, your servers are down. What other channels are available to dispense energy Units that customers can leverage ?

— Adetola Okuwoga (@AdetolaOkuwoga) October 10, 2024

KanyiDaily recalls that the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu recently claimed that more than 40% of Nigerians are now benefiting from 20 hours of electricity daily.