How to setup a new PHCN EDMI prepaid meter box.
I recently moved into a new apartment and ran into so many issues getting the new EDMI prepaid meter box from Ikeja electric to work. There were no instructions on any of the items provided and I wondered how non-technical people were able to overcome the technical hurdle required in setting things up. After days of researching and Googling, I finally figured it all out.
The activation guide on the Ikeja electric website were also of no help and their customer service numbers kept telling me I had to wait 152 seconds to speak to a rep every single time I called —and each time, I never got through. I hear they’re more reachable via whatsapp.
Here’s your guide on how to setup your PHCN EDMI Prepaid meter from any of the PHCN companies e.g Ikeja or Eko electric.
All steps below should/may only work when there’s power in the area.
Step 1 — Connect the EDMI box to the Meter outside
Your prepaid EDMI box should come with a piece of paper that includes your meter no and 2 token Numbers.
The first step to setting things up before trying any of the short codes is to connect the box to the one outside.
Enter your meter no and hit enter. You should see the words “Connect” on the screen and then “Success” after a few seconds. If this step fails, make sure you’re close enough to the box outside and also that there’s power(light) in your area. I noticed that if there’s no light, you can’t connect to the box.
This step registers your EDMI box to the device outside.
Step 2 — Activate your EDMI box with tokens
To activate Your EDMI box, you’d need to input the 2 20 digit tokens that were issued with the meter and EDMI box.
Enter them one after the other, pressing enter each time. Wait for the “Success” prompt each time before continuing.
Step 3 — Top up / Buy power tokens
PHCN gives you 100kW of power the when you purchase a meter. They take this money back the first time you load purchase credit for your new meter.
For example, rather than getting around 118 units for N6k, you’ll end up with 18units. When you recharge subsequently, you’ll then get the full value of your recharge.
I’ve used buypower.ng to purchase units and it seems quite efficient. It did take me an entire day to be able to purchase tokens. After trying Out quickteller, Kuda bank, Gtb apps without much success —( although this was due more to the IKEDC API/service being down than the fault of these providers), I was eventually able to top up using buypower.ng. They provide you with a token by text, email and in app once your payment is complete. Service charge is N100.
At some point while using quickteller, I kept getting a meter no. does not exist error. This was so confusing because earlier I had been able to get to the payment screen with the same service number even though my payments failed.
Step 4 — Load token.
If using buypower.ng, you’ll get a 20digit token by text. Input it into your EDMI box and it should show you your new credit/unit balance as a result of your recent top up.
That’s how you setup a brand new EDMI box from PHCN. I still think the process isn’t intuitive and it’s long. It’s what it is!
