By Kofi Mensah
Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) installed 241,590 meters across Nigeria in the first two months of 2026, as part of ongoing efforts to reduce estimated billing and close the country’s persistent metering gap.
Data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) revealed that 119,792 customers were metered in January, while another 121,798 customers received meters in February. This brought the total number of metered customers to 7.2 million, up from 7.08 million in January.
Despite the progress, the national metering rate rose only marginally—from 57.93 per cent in January to 58.57 per cent in February—leaving more than five million electricity consumers unmetered and vulnerable to estimated billing practices that have long triggered complaints.
DisCos’ Performance
- Eko DisCo maintained the highest metering rate at 87.62 per cent in February.
- Ikeja Electric followed closely at 87.16 per cent, while Abuja DisCo improved to 79.37 per cent.
- Port Harcourt DisCo rose to 66.36 per cent, above the national average.
- Benin DisCo emerged as the leader in new installations, deploying 51,570 meters across January and February.
- Ibadan DisCo, Nigeria’s largest utility with 2.48 million active customers, recorded a metering rate of 52.23 per cent, leaving nearly half of its customers unmetered.
- Enugu DisCo posted one of the weakest improvements, with its metering rate barely moving from 51.79 per cent to 51.83 per cent.
Meanwhile, northern DisCos continued to lag behind:
- Jos DisCo improved slightly to 34.04 per cent.
- Kaduna DisCo rose to 35.59 per cent.
- Kano DisCo recorded one of the slowest deployments, installing just 310 meters in two months, with a metering rate of 35.37 per cent.
- Yola DisCo remained the weakest performer, at 31.86 per cent.
Challenges and Government Interventions
Stakeholders have linked the slow pace of metering to financing constraints, foreign exchange pressures, supply chain challenges, and high procurement costs.
The Federal Government and NERC have introduced several initiatives in recent years to tackle estimated billing, improve market revenues, and boost transparency. Yet, the latest data show that Nigeria’s metering gap remains significant, with four out of every 10 electricity customers still without meters.