EKEDC to suspend payment services over upgrade

The Eko Electricity Distribution Company has announced a scheduled suspension of its payment services from October 18 to October 21, 2024, as part of a significant system upgrade aimed at enhancing operational efficiency.

The temporary disruption is necessary for EKEDC’s migration to a state-of-the-art ‘All-in-One System’, the electricity distributor said in a statement on Wednesday.

During this period, customers will be unable to make payments or recharge their prepaid meters through both online platforms and physical payment outlets. However, the electricity supply will remain unaffected.

EKEDC urged customers to recharge their prepaid meters and settle any outstanding bills before the downtime to avoid service interruptions.

The General Manager of Corporate Communications, EKEDC, Babatunde Lasaki, underlined the company’s commitment to providing a superior customer experience through technology.

“The All-in-One system will enable us to better manage customer data, streamline billing processes and respond more effectively to service issues,” Lasaki stated, adding that the new system will offer customers self-service options, allowing them to access their information and transaction history without needing to contact the company directly.

Acknowledging the potential inconvenience caused by the downtime, he said EKEDC is dedicated to ensuring a seamless transition.

“We recognise that this downtime may cause inconvenience, and we want to assure you that we are taking every step to minimise disruption.”

He encouraged prepaid customers to purchase units that would last throughout the service downtime and urged postpaid customers to make their bill payments in advance.

Throughout the migration period, EKEDC said its customer service team will remain available to assist customers, and customers can also reach out through EKEDC’s social media channels or visit their website for more information, the company said.

This system migration coincides with similar developments in Nigeria’s banking sector, where several top banks are also undergoing major system upgrades.

Guaranty Trust Bank a few days ago completed its core banking system migration as part of its efforts to improve services.

Sterling Bank’s switch to the SeaBaaS core banking application in August left customers without full access to banking services for three weeks, while Access Bank announced last weekend that it was upgrading its Flexcube core banking software.

Zenith Bank also completed its transition to Flexcube in September 2024.