By Buba Gagigo
Nani Juwara, Managing Director of The National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC), has announced that NAWEC must upgrade its electricity meters by November 24, 2024, to comply with the Standard Transfer Specification (STS).
STS is a standard in the prepayment electricity sector that requires all meters to be compatible with tokens generated by any vending system. The STS has a timeline for the tokens that meters can accept, and this timeline is being updated, requiring NAWEC to upgrade its meters.
Juwara explained the need for the upgrade in a press briefing on Tuesday, saying, “We are within the Standard Transfer Specification family. That is a standard within the prepayment electricity sector, and that is all meters that are produced by any manufacturer should comply, and that is you have to be STS compliant. The STS compliant issue has to do with tokens that have been generated by our vending systems that can go into all meters that are manufactured by any manufacturer. So, as such, the STS has a timeline for tokens that meters can accept like any other software developer, and they require some upgrades.”
Mr. Juwara reports that the Standard Transfer Specification (STS) has informed them that current tokens will no longer be accepted by STS meters after November 24, 2024.
“As we speak right now, the STS has notified all utilities around the world that the tokens that are being used now will not be accepted by our meters by the 24th of November 2024 at the latest. They have notified all the utilities around the world that we have to endeavor to upgrade the existing meters that we have so that at least when we upgrade those meters by the 24th of November, all these meters will be accepting any token that is generated by our vending systems provided the meters are upgraded,” he explained.
Nani Juwara explained that upgrading your meter is a straightforward process that doesn’t require buying a new one. When you purchase cash power, you’ll receive three tokens on your receipt, and these should be entered into your meter in a specific sequence.
“And how this is done is a very simple process. You don’t have to go and replace your meters, and you don’t have to buy new meters. Your meter numbers are already registered with us. When we upgrade your meter numbers in the system. For example, if you come to buy electricity, If you buy D100, three tokens will be generated for you in sequence. You have the first, second and the third numbers.
“And the third number is your credit. So the first two tokens that will be generated are the ones you will input in your meter first in sequence. You enter the first token, the second token and then your credit. If you enter the first one and the second one, then your meter is already updated. Then you enter your credit. So there’s nothing to be feared because we have fourteen months to go from today. As we speak, we have 290,000 meters that need to be updated,” he explained.
The Managing Director of the National Water and Electricity Company (NAWEC) warned that there will be no charge for the upgrade of prepaid meters. NAWEC urged citizens to report any cases of payment requests for the upgrade.
The Standard Transfer Specification (STS) is the global standard for transferring electricity and other utility prepayment tokens. It ensures that system components from different manufacturers can work together.