4.85m customers still unmetered

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, yesterday said the Electricity Distribution Companies, DisCos, in Nigeria delivered about 308,106 meters to their customers between May and June 2026.

In its latest Metering Status of Distribution Companies Factsheet for May and June 2026, NERC said total active customers rose by 0.55 percent  to 12.59 million in June 2026 against 12.52 million recorded in May 2026, adding that total metered customers stood at 7,743,839, leaving roughly 4.85 million customers still unmetered.

The regulator said the data reflects “continued progress in customer metering across the country” as DisCos work to close the metering gap and reduce reliance on estimated billing.

The report revealed that Eko Disco got the highest metering record with an 88.70 per cent metering rate, followed by Ikeja Electric, which saw an 87.91 per cent metering rate. Also, Abuja Disco recorded an 81.38 per cent metering rate respectively.

The Federal Government had said it metered roughly 60% of active electricity customers in Nigeria, with an ongoing rollout under Phase 1 of the $500 million World Bank-financed Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP).

Under the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) with coordination by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the goal is to close the electricity metering gap and eliminate arbitrary estimated billing for registered customers across Nigeria.

Giving update on the programe, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Ayodeji Gbeleyi, stated: “We have implemented 60 per cent of the meters that have been delivered in the country out of 1,033,000. So far, we have deployed and installed 668,000 meters on customers’ premises.” Speaking on the updates, Minister of Power, Mr Joseph Tegbe, stated: “We are working concertedly and in a very collaborative manner to ensure that we give value, either in electricity or in telecoms—whichever area—to make sure that Nigerians benefit from this government’’.