What the compensation is
Band A is the tariff class that pays the most and is promised at least 20 hours of electricity a day. In February and March 2026 the grid could not keep that promise. Gas shortages and vandalised infrastructure cut generation, and Band A feeders across the country ran short of their hours.
In June 2026 the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission answered with Directive NERC/2026/002, the Special Compensation of Band A Customers Arising from Grid Generation Constraints. It told every DisCo to give the money back. Not in cash. In energy.
IBEDC's share of that order is what this tool checks. Their portal opened in August 2026 for the 20 affected feeders in Oyo, Ogun, Osun and Kwara, and it issues the credit as an ordinary prepaid token.
Who is eligible
Three things have to be true at once:
- Your meter sat on a Band A feeder in February or March 2026.
- That feeder delivered fewer hours than promised. Feeders that averaged under 18 hours a day get the full 20 percent compensation; feeders between 18 and 20 hours fall under NERC's ordinary service rules.
- You are a prepaid customer if you want a token. Postpaid customers on the same feeders are compensated too, but as a credit on the bill.
How much? For a non-MD customer it is 20 percent of the approved February 2026 energy cap for the feeder. For a maximum-demand customer it is 20 percent of the average energy billed per MD customer that month. You will see the units when the token loads, not before.
Band B, C, D and E customers are outside this directive. So is anyone whose Band A feeder met its hours.
How the check works
The box at the top of this page is the same screen AidaPay users get in the app. You type a meter or account number and press Get Info. Our server passes that number to IBEDC's compensation service, the same one behind ibedc.com/compensationtokens, and brings back IBEDC's reply as plain text.
Two answers are possible. Eligible: the reply carries a 20-digit token, shown with a copy button. Not eligible: IBEDC's own message, usually a line saying no information was found for that number. We do not edit either. A number you check twice within a few minutes is answered from a short cache so IBEDC's server is not asked again.
If IBEDC's site is slow or down you get a plain "could not check right now". Try again later; the token does not expire because a check failed.
Loading the token
A compensation token is a normal STS token. Load it the way you load one you bought:
- Copy the 20 digits, or write them down in four-digit groups.
- On the meter keypad, type the digits and press Enter (the tick or # key on some meters).
- Wait for Accept and the units to appear. Reject means a typing error, a token for a different meter, or a meter that needs a key change first.
Loaded tokens cannot be loaded twice. If the meter shows "Used", the credit is already on it.
If it says not eligible
Most "not eligible" replies are correct: the feeder kept its hours, or the meter is not Band A. Two cases are worth a call to IBEDC. First, you know your area had days of darkness in those months and neighbours on the same line got tokens. Second, you moved meters or changed account numbers since March 2026, so the credit may sit on the old number.
Keep your meter number, your address and the feeder name (it is on your IBEDC bill or in the IBEDC app) ready when you call. If IBEDC cannot resolve it, NERC's customer complaints forum for your state is the next step.
IBEDC contacts
Customer care line +234 700 123 9999, email customercare@ibedc.com, and the compensation page at ibedc.com/compensationtokens. When you next need units, IBEDC tokens are sold in the AidaPay app with the meter name verified before you pay.
Frequently asked questions
Who qualifies for the IBEDC compensation token?
How much is the compensation?
I am on postpaid. Do I get a token?
The token was issued but my meter rejects it.
Is there a deadline?
Does this cover other DisCos?
Is AidaPay part of IBEDC?
How we check this page
The AidaPay team checked the facts on this page on 28 Sep 2026 against the sources below - the provider's own pages and the regulator first. The tool itself asks the provider live on every check. Spotted something out of date? Email help@aidapay.ng and we will correct it.
Sources: IBEDC: Compensation tokens for eligible Band A customers · Guardian Nigeria: NERC orders DisCos to compensate Band A customers over power supply shortfalls (June 2026) · Vanguard: NERC approves compensation for eligible Band A electricity customers (June 2026) · Legit.ng: IBEDC opens compensation portal for Band A customers (August 2026)
