REGULATOR’S PUSH FORCES DISCOS TO ROLL OUT 700,000 FREE METERS NATIONWIDE

By Ono Yima

Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) have begun rolling out up to 700,000 prepaid meters to customers nationwide at no direct cost, following mounting pressure from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to close the country’s long-standing metering gap.

The rollout, which is largely targeting Band A and some Band B customers, comes weeks after NERC Chairman, Musiliu Oseni, publicly accused DisCos of failing to pick up available meters for distribution despite substantial government investment. Speaking at the 4th Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) Stakeholders Meeting in Abuja, Oseni disclosed that between 600,000 and 700,000 meters were already available and challenged utilities to accelerate deployment and improve public communication.

NERC has taken an increasingly hard line. Commissioner for Corporate Services, Nathan Shatti, criticised what he described as the “poor performance” of some utilities, revealing that Abuja and Kano DisCos had achieved only two per cent compliance on refunds to customers who paid for meters under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme. He warned DisCos to stop collecting money where their networks were not ready for metering, stressing that failure to install meters ultimately worsens their own losses.

Field checks confirm that meter distribution is now ongoing across several franchise areas. The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) also confirmed the rollout, with its Chief Executive, Sunday Oduntan, clarifying that while customers are not paying upfront, the meters are not entirely free.

According to Oduntan, the meters were procured by the Federal Government but will be paid for by DisCos over a 10-year period. “There’s no free food in Freetown,” he said, noting that manufacturers must be paid and that DisCos will ultimately recover the cost under regulatory arrangements. He added that customers who previously paid for meters under the MAP scheme are entitled to refunds, which are credited gradually through electricity vending.

Nigeria’s metering performance has shown modest improvement. NERC’s latest metering factsheet shows that 187,765 customers were newly metered between September and October 2025, pushing the national metering rate from 55.37 per cent to 56.07 per cent. Still, over 5.3 million customers remain on estimated billing.

While Ikeja Electric leads the country with an 85.59 per cent metering rate, followed by Eko and Abuja DisCos, others such as Yola, Jos, Kaduna and Kano remain below 35 per cent. Sector observers say the uneven performance underscores the need for sustained regulatory pressure.

The current rollout is being reinforced by fresh funding. In October, NERC approved the disbursement of N28 billion under Tranche B of the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) to meter all outstanding Band A customers free of charge and accelerate coverage for Band B customers. The intervention, part of the Presidential Metering Initiative, builds on an earlier N21 billion tranche and comes with strict procurement and installation deadlines, with all installations to be completed by December 31, 2025.

Despite years of interventions, Nigeria’s estimated seven-million-meter deficit remains a major challenge. However, with metering now edging past 56 per cent after years of stagnation, regulators insist that sustained enforcement and timely deployment could finally push the sector closer to universal metering—long demanded by consumers weary of estimated billing.