Millions of Nigerians Still Face Estimated Billing as Meter Gap Persists

More than five million electricity consumers across Nigeria are still without prepaid meters, highlighting the country’s lingering metering crisis despite recent efforts to improve electricity billing transparency. Fresh data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) showed that about 5.1 million customers remained unmetered as of February 2026.

The figures, contained in NERC’s January and February 2026 metering factsheet, revealed that only 7.21 million out of Nigeria’s 12.31 million active electricity customers had been metered by February. This means roughly 41 per cent of consumers are still subjected to estimated billing, a system that has repeatedly sparked complaints from households and businesses nationwide.

Although the gap remains significant, the Commission noted a slight improvement in the national metering rate, which increased from 57.93 per cent in January to 58.57 per cent in February. The improvement followed the installation of 121,798 new meters within the one-month period.

Among the electricity distribution companies, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company emerged as one of the strongest performers, recording a metering rate of 79.37 per cent in February. Eko Disco and Ikeja Electric also posted impressive figures of 87.62 per cent and 87.16 per cent respectively, while Port Harcourt Disco achieved a metering rate of 66.36 per cent.

Other DisCos recorded moderate progress in meter deployment. Benin DisCo posted a metering rate of 56.75 per cent, while Ibadan and Enugu DisCos recorded 52.23 per cent and 51.83 per cent respectively. The report also showed that Benin DisCo installed 25,658 new meters in February, while Ibadan and Abuja added 16,445 and 18,352 meters respectively.

However, the situation remains more challenging in some parts of the country. Yola DisCo recorded the lowest metering rate at 31.86 per cent, followed by Jos at 34.04 per cent. Kano and Kaduna DisCos also lagged behind with 35.37 per cent and 35.59 per cent respectively, underscoring the uneven pace of meter rollout across Nigeria’s power sector.


Elijah Adeyemi