The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has disclosed that more than five million electricity customers across the country remain without meters, leaving them exposed to estimated billing by distribution companies (DisCos).
According to NERC’s third-quarter 2025 industry report, only 6,661,564 of the 12,030,315 registered electricity customers across the 12 DisCos were metered as of September 30, 2025. This represents a metering coverage of 55.37 per cent, underscoring the scale of the country’s persistent metering deficit.
Modest increase in meter installations
NERC reported that 228,614 meters were installed nationwide during the third quarter of 2025, marking a marginal increase of 0.73 per cent from the 226,959 meters installed in the second quarter.
Ibadan, Aba and Abuja DisCos recorded the highest number of installations during the period, accounting for 23.38 per cent, 20.81 per cent and 19.06 per cent of total installations, respectively.
Nine DisCos record declines
Despite the overall increase, the report showed that nine DisCos recorded declines in meter installations during the quarter.
Port Harcourt and Jos DisCos posted the sharpest drops, with declines of 62.35 per cent and 61.68 per cent, respectively. In contrast, Aba DisCo recorded a 173.45 per cent increase, followed by Abuja (38.28 per cent) and Ibadan (17.72 per cent).
MAP framework leads deployment
Under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) framework, 176,302 meters, representing 77.12 per cent of total installations in Q3, were deployed. This reflected an 18.20 per cent increase compared to the previous quarter.
Ibadan DisCo led MAP installations with 53,441 meters, followed by Abuja (35,449) and Benin (26,690).
Other metering frameworks included Vendor-Financed installations (44,104 meters, 19.29 per cent), the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP) (7,902 meters, 3.46 per cent), the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) (175 meters, 0.08 per cent), and DisCo-Financed meters (131 meters, 0.06 per cent).
MAF, DISREP target metering gap
NERC noted that the Meter Acquisition Fund, introduced in February 2023, allows a metering surcharge within approved tariffs. Tranche B of the MAF, which became effective on October 6, 2025, earmarks ₦28 billion for metering Band A and Band B customers across DisCos’ franchise areas.
The commission also highlighted the Federal Government-backed DISREP, supported by a $500 million World Bank loan, which aims to deploy 3.2 million smart meters nationwide to improve DisCos’ technical and financial performance. Meter installations under DISREP began in May 2025, with 7,902 meters installed by the end of the third quarter.
Billing concerns linger
NERC said the continued prevalence of unmetered customers exposes millions of Nigerians to estimated billing and reinforces the urgent need to accelerate meter deployment across the electricity value chain.
The regulator stressed that closing the metering gap remains critical to improving transparency, consumer confidence and overall efficiency in Nigeria’s power sector.
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