Over 50 per cent of Nigerian electricity users unmetered – NERC

• Published On: 08 January 2025 at 18:14

The Federal Government has revealed that more than half of Nigeria's registered electricity customers have yet to be metered, with 53.8% still relying on estimated bills.

According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, as of September 30, 2024, only 6,156,726 of the 13,339,635 registered electricity customers across the country's twelve distribution companies were metered. This leaves 7,182,909 customers unmetered, or 53.85 percent of the total.

In its third-quarter report for 2024, NERC reported a significant increase in meter installation. In Q3, a total of 184,507 customers were metered, a 256% increase over Q2 of that year. Ikeja, Ibadan, and Abuja DisCos had the highest number of installations, accounting for 25.45%, 21.48%, and 14.61% of the total, respectively.

The report highlighted significant improvements in meter installations, particularly in Eko, Ibadan, Ikeja, and Benin DisCos, which saw increases of 2,120%, 575.60%, 417.40%, and 389.32%, respectively. However, Aba, Kaduna, and Jos DisCos saw decreases in installations of 43.90 percent, 24.69 percent, and 9.31 percent, respectively.

The ongoing efforts to close the metering gap come after Adebayo Adelabu, Minister of Power, announced in October 2024 that the federal government had purchased 1.8 million meters to address estimated billing. The first batch of meters is expected in December 2024, with the remaining deliveries scheduled for the second quarter of 2025.

Adelabu also stated that the government intends to purchase a total of 3 million meters over the next five years, with a World Bank partnership aimed at acquiring 3.5 million meters over the next two to three years.

Furthermore, in November 2024, NERC ordered DisCos to replace obsolete meters at no cost to customers, following reports that some companies were charging for replacements. The federal government has also called for an acceleration of the National Mass Metering Programme to speed up the country's metering efforts as part of ongoing power sector reforms in Nigeria.