Over Half of Nigeria’s Electricity Customers Now Metered – NERC

Nigeria has reached a significant milestone in electricity distribution, with more than half of its 12.1 million active customers now equipped with prepaid meters.

According to the latest factsheet released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the national metering rate rose to 57.27% by the end of December 2025, up from 56.54% recorded in November.

Out of 12,163,412 active electricity customers nationwide, 6,966,584 now have meters installed. Distribution companies (DisCos) deployed 109,556 new meters in December alone, a notable increase from the 88,592 installations recorded in November. The rise suggests accelerating momentum in efforts to reduce Nigeria’s longstanding metering gap.

Three DisCos currently lead in metering coverage. Ikeja DisCo tops the chart with an 86.40% metering rate, followed closely by Eko DisCo at 85.87%, while Abuja DisCo stands at 77.81%. These operators have consistently maintained the highest levels of meter deployment across their service areas.

At the other end of the spectrum, Kaduna DisCo recorded the lowest metering rate at 34.42%, meaning only about one in three customers in its coverage area has a meter. Kano DisCo follows at 35.35%, while Benin DisCo’s rate stands at 55.45%.

NERC says 148,000 Electricity Customers Metered in May, June

Ibadan DisCo, which serves the largest customer base nationally with 2,444,715 active accounts, has installed meters for 1,267,503 customers, translating to a 51.85% metering rate, below the national average. Meanwhile, Abuja DisCo, with 1,441,807 customers, has metered 1,044,014 accounts, reflecting stronger performance despite a smaller customer base.

Implications for Billing and Power Sector Reform

Despite the progress, over 5.1 million customers, roughly 43% of total users, still lack meters. These customers are billed using estimated charges, a practice that frequently triggers disputes over billing accuracy between electricity consumers and distribution companies.

Unmetered customers often complain of inflated bills and limited ability to monitor their actual energy consumption. Without prepaid meters, households and businesses face challenges in managing usage and controlling electricity expenses.

To address the gap, NERC has introduced several initiatives, including the National Mass Metering Programme and the Meter Asset Provider scheme, both aimed at accelerating installations and improving billing transparency. The steady increase in monthly installations suggests regulatory pressure is yielding results.

Achieving a metering rate above 50% marks an important step toward improving accountability in Nigeria’s power sector. However, industry observers note that closing the remaining gap will be crucial to building a more reliable and transparent electricity billing system.

With installation rates rising month-on-month, attention now shifts to whether DisCos can sustain the pace required to ensure universal metering and significantly reduce reliance on estimated billing nationwide.