You bought your token, the SMS confirmed your payment, and now your meter is staring back at you with "Rejected" on the screen instead of your new units. Before you call anyone or pay for a second token out of panic, this guide walks through exactly what each failure message means and how to fix it, brand by brand.

Quick Answer

Most token failures come down to one of four things: a wrong meter number entered at the point of purchase, a token generated for a different meter, a meter that needs a free Key Change Token (KCT) before it'll accept anything new, or a connection fault between your meter and its keypad. Work through these in order before assuming you've lost your money — in almost every case, the units aren't gone, the token just hasn't been accepted yet. Going through the steps in this guide methodically, rather than re-entering the same code repeatedly out of frustration, is what actually gets your light back on faster.

First, Figure Out Which Problem You Actually Have

The exact message on your meter or keypad tells you which fix applies. Use this as your starting point before you do anything else:

What You See Likely Cause Jump To
"Rejected" or "Invalid Token" Wrong meter number entered, dirty keypad contacts, or a typo in the digits Problem 1
"Used Token" or "Token Already Entered" Already loaded successfully, a glitch during entry, or a recycled token from a bad vendor Problem 2
Rejected repeatedly despite a confirmed correct meter number Meter needs a Key Change Token Problem 3
"Communication Failure" before you've typed anything Cable, power, or battery fault between meter and keypad Problem 4
Nothing arrived after payment Vendor or platform delivery issue, not a meter fault at all Problem 5

Problem 1 — Meter Says "Rejected" or "Invalid Token"

This is the most common complaint, and it's almost never about the token being fake. The usual causes, in order of likelihood:

  1. You typed your meter number wrong when you paid. The platform generated a valid token, just not for your meter. Check your payment receipt against the number physically printed on your meter — if they don't match, contact whoever you paid through (bank, VTpass, BuyPower, your DISCO) with the transaction reference so they can correct it.
  2. The meter needs a Key Change Token first. If your meter number is correct and it's still rejecting, skip to Problem 3 below.
  3. The keypad contacts are dirty. Gently wipe the metal contact points on your card or keypad with a clean, dry cloth and try entering the token again.
  4. You entered a digit wrong. Twenty digits is a lot to type correctly on a small keypad in the dark. Re-enter slowly, double-checking against your receipt before pressing confirm.

If you've ruled all of these out and it still rejects, that's when you escalate to your DISCO with your token reference number rather than continuing to guess.

Problem 2 — "Used Token" or "Token Already Entered"

This message means the meter's internal counter believes this exact 20-digit code has already been processed. It usually happens for one of three reasons:

  1. You (or someone else in the house) already entered it successfully, and the meter is correctly refusing to load the same units twice. Check your unit balance first — it may already have gone through.
  2. A double-entry glitch during a power flicker caused the CIU to register the token once even though it didn't fully complete, leaving the meter thinking it's used while no units were added. If your balance genuinely didn't increase, this is the scenario, and your DISCO can manually verify and re-credit it using your token reference.
  3. You bought from an unverified vendor who resold a token that had already been used elsewhere. This is rare on legitimate platforms (bank apps, VTpass, BuyPower, Quickteller, your DISCO's own portal) but more common with informal resellers. If you suspect this, you have grounds to demand a refund from whoever sold it to you, since a genuinely new token should never come back "used."

In all three cases, the fix is the same: don't keep re-entering the same code hoping it changes outcome. Confirm your actual balance, then escalate to your DISCO with the token reference if the units truly never landed.

Problem 3 — You Need a Key Change Token (KCT)

A Key Change Token is different from your normal recharge token. It's a pair of 20-digit codes (KCT1 and KCT2, 40 digits total) that resets your meter's internal configuration — it doesn't add any units, it just unlocks the meter to accept regular tokens again. You typically need one when:

  • Your tariff plan or tariff band has changed
  • Your meter has gone through a TID rollover (a periodic software refresh that all STS-compliant meters worldwide undergo)
  • You've had a meter replaced or upgraded
  • Your meter keeps rejecting a token you're certain was generated correctly

Getting your KCT is free. No DISCO is allowed to charge you for this. How you get it depends on your DISCO:

  • Ikeja Electric — link your NIN to your meter at their dedicated KYC portal, after which your KCT becomes available alongside your next token purchase.
  • KEDCO (Kano) — visit their customer care portal, select "Key Change Token" as your complaint category, and submit your meter number, name, email, and phone number.
  • Other DISCOs (EKEDC, AEDC, PHED, IBEDC, EEDC, BEDC, and others) — contact your DISCO's customer care line or visit the nearest office with your meter number; most will generate and send the KCT by SMS or email once your request is logged.
  • If you bought your last token through a platform like VTpass — check the platform's tools or support section; some can retrieve your KCT directly if the rejection happened on a token they issued.

Loading order matters: enter KCT1 first and confirm, then KCT2 and confirm, and only after both have been accepted should you enter your regular energy token. Entering them out of order or skipping one is one of the most common reasons people think their KCT "didn't work."

Problem 4 — "Communication Failure" Before You Even Enter a Token

This message means your meter and its Customer Interface Unit (CIU) — the keypad you actually type into — aren't talking to each other properly. It has nothing to do with your token yet. Check, in order:

  1. The cable connecting the CIU to the meter is firmly plugged in at both ends.
  2. The meter itself has power — if there's a total outage in your area, some CIUs won't communicate with the meter until supply is restored.
  3. If your CIU is battery-powered, check whether the batteries are weak or need replacing.

If all of that checks out and the fault persists, this is a hardware issue for your DISCO to fix, not something you can resolve by re-entering tokens.

Problem 5 — You Paid But Never Got a Token

This is a vendor-side issue, not a meter issue, and it's worth ruling out before you touch your meter at all.

  1. Check SMS under any unfamiliar sender ID — DISCOs and platforms often send tokens from a numeric shortcode rather than a recognizable name.
  2. Check your email, including spam, if you provided one during payment.
  3. Log back into whichever platform you used (bank app, VTpass, BuyPower, Quickteller) — the token is almost always sitting in your order or transaction history even when the SMS never arrives.
  4. If 20 to 30 minutes pass with a confirmed debit and no token anywhere, contact that platform's or bank's customer care with your transaction reference, not your DISCO — they're the ones holding your payment.

Common MOJEC Error Codes (Widely Used Across Nigerian DISCOs)

Code Meaning What to Do
Error 1 Internal memory (RAM) fault Contact your DISCO or MOJEC support — this is a hardware issue, not something to self-fix
Error 2 EEPROM failure Technical fault; contact your DISCO for a technician
Error 6 Wrong key, or the meter's key has a fault Contact your DISCO; this often resolves with a Key Change Token
Error 10 Meter number problem, or dirty keypad contacts Clean the contacts and retry; if it persists, contact support
Error 12 Key pass error — an invalid key was entered Re-enter carefully; if it keeps failing, contact your DISCO

If your meter is a different brand (Hexing, Itron, Conlog, Memmcol), the exact error numbering can differ — check the manual that came with your installation, or just call your DISCO and read out the exact code shown. Don't assume an unfamiliar code means something serious; in most cases it's a routine fault your DISCO's support line has seen hundreds of times before.

The Universal Reset (Works on Most CIU-Based Meters)

This sequence works on the majority of MOJEC and Memmcol-type CIUs used across Nigerian DISCOs, but always confirm with your DISCO first if you're not sure, since incorrect codes entered repeatedly can sometimes trigger a tamper flag on certain meter models:

  1. Type 990 and press Enter.
  2. Type 0000 and press Enter — you should see "Good" displayed.
  3. Type 999 and press Enter — you should see "Reset."
  4. Unplug the CIU from its power source, then plug it back in.
  5. Re-enter your original token.

When to Stop Troubleshooting and Call Your DISCO

Call your DISCO directly rather than continuing to guess if any of these apply: your meter is brand new and rejecting its very first activation token, you've tried a Key Change Token and it still fails, the meter shows a hardware-specific error code you don't recognize, or you suspect the meter itself might have a tamper flag from a previous issue you didn't cause.

DISCO Phone Email
Ikeja Electric (IKEDC) 01-7000250, 09087940825 customercare@ikejaelectric.com
Eko Electric (EKEDC) 0708 067 1170, 0700 123 5666 customercare@ekedp.com
Abuja Electric (AEDC) 0803 907 0070 customercare@abujaelectricity.com
Port Harcourt Electric (PHED) 0700-225-57433 customercare@phed.com.ng
Kano Electric (KEDCO) check kedco.ng for current contact line —
Ibadan Electric (IBEDC) 0700-123-9999 check ibedc.com for current address

How to Avoid This Happening Again

Double-check your meter number against your receipt before you confirm any payment, since a wrong digit is the single biggest cause of rejected tokens. Buy from a platform or your bank app rather than an unverified third party, so there's always an order history to fall back on if a token disappears. And load tokens into your meter as soon as you receive them instead of saving the code for later — an unloaded token sitting in your SMS inbox for months is far more likely to run into a key mismatch by the time you finally use it.

It's also worth keeping a simple running note (a phone notes app is fine) of your meter number, your last token reference, and the date you last had a key change — this small habit turns a five-minute phone call to your DISCO into a thirty-second one, since most of the back-and-forth in these complaints is just confirming details you could have had ready from the start.

Bookmark this page — we update it whenever DISCOs change their KCT process or contact details. Still stuck after trying everything here? Drop your exact error message and meter brand in the comments and we'll help you figure out the next step. The more specific you can be about the wording on your screen, the faster we (or another reader who's hit the same error) can point you to the right fix.