Regulator pressure: Discos roll out 700,000 free meters

Electricity distribution companies have commenced the distribution of prepaid meters at no cost to their customers, although it was gathered that the meters are largely for Band A and some Band B customers.

This is coming a few weeks after the Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Musiliu Oseni, accused the DisCos of refusing to pick available meters for onward distribution to their customers.

At the recently held 4th NESI Stakeholders Meeting in Abuja, Oseni revealed that there are currently 600,000 to 700,000 meters available in the country. He challenged utilities to improve publicity and rollout speed, noting that the government has made the investment, so the DisCos need to step up.

NERC Commissioner for Corporate Services, Nathan Shatti, told the DisCos to stop behaving as if they were doing customers a favour. Reviewing the data on Meter Asset Provider refunds and installations, Shatti highlighted the “poor performance” of specific utilities, noting that Abuja and Kano DisCos have achieved only two per cent compliance on refunds.

Addressing the backlog of paid-for but uninstalled meters, he rejected technical excuses, saying, “If your network is not ready for metering, do not collect people’s money.”

He further observed that for every transformer or meter not installed, DisCos incur losses; hence, it is in their interest to meter customers and fix transformer-related issues. Shatti also revealed that over 350,000 meters are yet to be migrated to the new STS standard, demanding immediate cleanup of obsolete data.

Checks by The PUNCH showed that meters are currently being distributed within the various franchise areas of DisCos. Confirming this, the Chief Executive of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, Sunday Oduntan, said meter distribution is going on across the country at no cost to the customers.

However, Oduntan said the meters were procured by the Federal Government but would be paid for by the DisCos, saying the meters came at a huge cost to the utility companies, who are expected to pay back the cost in 10 years.

“The DisCos are distributing free meters under the programme that we have. There are limited meters, and they are being distributed to people or to areas classified for such distribution all over the country.

“But the truth is that the meters are not even enough, but it is still a good step towards closing the metering gap. And when you hear about free meters, the DisCos are expected to pay for them within the next 10 years. There’s no free food in Freetown. People think a free meter means it just dropped from heaven.

”The producers of those meters have to be paid. Who’s going to pay them? The Federal Government steps in to help, but the DisCos will have to make a refund. So the meters are not free. The DisCos don’t manufacture meters,” he clarified.

On claims that the DisCos are expected to meter all their customers at no cost to the latter, he replied, “So when you meter your customers free of charge, how do you recover the cost of that metering?”

Oduntan explained that under the Meter Asset Provider programme, customers who paid for meters must get refunds. “We know some customers are paying for meters. These free ones are separate from the MAP programme. And the one they are paying for, they will still get their refund by way of credit over time,” he stated.

According to Oduntan, DisCos have been told to always educate their customers about the meters they paid for and the mode of refund.

”We have told the DisCos that they need to make it so clear so that customers can know when those refunds are coming in. I want to tell you one more thing, some customers don’t know. They will accuse the DisCos of cheating them. They will say the units they get with the same amount have reduced.

“They didn’t know it was the refund they were getting from the meters they paid for that made them get more units during vending. But when you don’t tell them, how do you blame customers when they think that they are paying for meters and they are not getting the refund?” he asked.

Oduntan said he could not confirm the actual number of meters to be installed in the ongoing metering, saying all DisCos are involved.  While asked to reply to the NERC chairman’s comment that the DisCos are not coming forward to distribute meters, he said Oseni would penalise the DisCos if there was a need to do so.

“He knows what to do. If he doesn’t do it, it’s because there’s no need to do it. If there’s a need to do anything, he will do it. The new NERC chairman is a credible man. He’s a credible regulator. He’s a brilliant man, and he will do the right thing,” he stated.

Nigeria’s metering performance improved between September and October 2025, with 187,765 electricity customers newly metered nationwide, according to the latest metering factsheet released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The document shows that 80,943 customers received meters in September, while another 106,822 were metered in October. It indicated that the sustained meter rollout pushed the national metering rate from 55.37 per cent in September to 56.07 per cent in October.

During the same period, the country’s active electricity customer base grew from 12,030,315 to 12,071,018, reflecting an addition of 40,703 new customers. NERC’s figures indicate that the number of metered customers rose from 6,661,564 at the end of September to 6,768,386 by October, leaving 5,302,632 customers still on estimated billing.

The improvement might be partly linked to ongoing interventions such as the Meter Acquisition Fund and other metering programmes, which began yielding visible gains in the fourth quarter of the year.

According to the NERC report, Ikeja Electric posted the highest metering rate in the country at 85.59 per cent, with 1,113,421 of its 1,300,940 active customers captured. Eko Electric followed closely at 84.75 per cent, while Abuja Electric achieved 75.82 per cent.

However, four distribution companies—Yola, Jos, Kaduna, and Kano—remained below the 35 per cent threshold. Yola Disco ranked lowest at 28.92 per cent, followed by Jos (29.74 per cent), Kaduna (33.72 per cent), and Kano (34.50 per cent).

It was noted that Aba Power made the most notable progress in the month under review, installing 18,906 new meters and raising its metering rate from 69.49 per cent in September to 78.20 per cent in October, a 3.3 percentage-point jump.

Abuja Disco added 19,118 metres, while Ikeja installed 17,046, and Ibadan followed with 15,739 during the same period. The remaining DisCos, including Benin, Enugu, Port Harcourt, and Eko, accounted for the balance of the October installations.

Despite the significant gains, NERC’s report shows that more than 5.3 million electricity customers remain unmetered across the country. With metering now crossing the 56 per cent mark after years of stagnation around 50–55 per cent, sector observers believe that sustained progress through the end of 2025 could push Nigeria closer to achieving the long-delayed goal of universal metering.

DisCos get N28bn

Earlier in October, NERC said it approved the disbursement of N28bn to electricity distribution companies for the second phase of the Meter Acquisition Fund scheme, for the metering of all outstanding Band A customers free of charge.

The order, cited as ‘NERC Order No: 2025/10—Order on the Operationalisation of Tranche B of the Meter Acquisition Fund’, took effect from October 6, 2025, and forms part of the Presidential Metering Initiative, which aims to close Nigeria’s estimated seven-million-meter deficit.

In the directive signed by Oseni and the Commissioner for Legal, Licensing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye, the commission said the latest tranche would focus on metering all outstanding unmetered Band A customers while expediting the closure of the metering gap for customers currently classified under Tariff Band B.

“The commission has further approved the deployment of the sum of N28,000,000,000 for Tranche B of the MAF Scheme. These funds shall be allocated in proportion to the respective contributions of the DisCos and are intended to meter all outstanding unmetered Band A customers while also expediting the closure of the metering gap for customers currently classified under Tariff Band B,” the commission explained.

It added further that “DisCos shall utilise N28bn of the MAF scheme for Tranche B, apportioned in accordance with their respective contributions for the procurement and installation of meters for unmetered Band ‘A’ and ‘B’ customers within their franchise areas.”

The N28bn was to be shared among the 11 distribution companies in proportion to their market contributions. Ikeja Electric received the highest allocation of N5.47bn, followed by Eko DisCo with N4.36bn, Ibadan DisCo with N4.26bn, and Abuja DisCo with N3.31bn. Yola got N231m, and Jos received N794m.

The commission said the initiative was designed to accelerate meter deployment, enhance service quality, and reduce energy theft and collection losses. According to the order, all the meters to be procured and installed under the MAF framework shall be provided at no cost to the customers.

It explained that Tranche B builds on the first N21bn tranche, which ended on June 30, 2025, under which the commission approved meter purchases from funds accrued through the national electricity market.

“As of the April 2024 market settlement cycle, the sum of N21.86bn had accrued and was made available for the procurement of meters under the first tranche of the MAF scheme,” the commission noted.

Under the new framework, NERC imposed strict timelines for procurement, delivery, and installation. The order mandated DisCos to begin the procurement process within 10 days of the order’s effective date and to submit their selected meter providers to NERC within 15 days for approval.

“DisCos shall, within 10 days from the effective date of this order, conduct a transparent procurement process for the selection and execution of a contract with MAPs with verified and ready-for-deployment meter stock for the metering of end-use customer meters under the MAF scheme.

“DisCos shall, no later than 15 days from the date of the order, submit to the commission a list of their selected MAPs and details of meter inventory, including meter types, brand names, serial numbers, and meter location, to obtain a ‘No-Objection’ approval from the commission,” it was stated.

After approval, Meter Asset Providers are required to deliver 100 per cent of contracted meter stock within seven days to the DisCos’ warehouses for verification. “Where the selected MAP fails to deliver the contracted meter quantities within the seven-day timeframe, supply of the outstanding meter quantities shall be opened up to another MAP on a first-come, first-served basis,” NERC warned.

It further directed that once meters are delivered and verified, the Fund Manager will release 60 per cent of the contract sum, while the remaining 40 per cent will be paid only after full installation is verified.

NERC warned that distribution companies would be penalised if installation delays arise from their own failures, such as not providing network clearance or accurate customer information. The commission gave DisCos until the end of the year to complete all installations funded under Tranche B.

“The installation of meters shall be completed by 31 December 2025,” the order declared, meaning that DisCos have till next Wednesday to complete all installations if the other is followed.

NERC said the Meter Acquisition Fund was created to offset the impact of DisCos’ poor creditworthiness, which has hampered their ability to secure loans for metering and infrastructure.

It was observed that despite earlier interventions such as the Meter Asset Provider Regulations 2018 and the MAP & National Mass Metering Regulations 2021, Nigeria’s metering deficit remains high.

“There is an urgent and compelling need to accelerate the closure of the metering gap for all customers currently classified under Tariff Band A to safeguard revenue protection and enable effective demand-side management,” NERC said.(Punch)