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Metering Rate Rises to 59.7% in April as DisCos Deploy 349,000 Meters
Nigeria’s electricity metering rate rose from 57.93 per cent in January to 59.69 per cent in April 2026, as distribution companies deployed more prepaid meters across their networks.
Data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) showed that the number of metered customers increased from 7.09 million to 7.44 million within the four‑month period.
The improvement reflects efforts by the Federal Government and DisCos to close the metering gap and reduce reliance on estimated billing.
More than 227,000 customers were added to the metering network in March and April alone, pushing national coverage closer to 60 per cent. Despite this progress, over five million active customers remained without meters as of April.
NERC’s factsheet revealed uneven performance across the 11 DisCos. Eko Electricity Distribution Company led with 88.78 per cent metering coverage, followed by Ikeja Electric at 87.93 per cent and Abuja DisCo at 80.08 per cent.
In contrast, northern utilities such as Yola, Jos, Kano, and Kaduna DisCos recorded rates below 40 per cent, highlighting regional disparities.
Ibadan DisCo added the highest monthly installations in April with 31,951 customers, while Port Harcourt achieved 67.73 per cent coverage and Benin reached 59.14 per cent.
Enugu DisCo stood at 51.38 per cent. The data showed that while progress is steady, many companies remain below the national average.
Metering remains one of the biggest challenges in Nigeria’s power sector. Initiatives like the National Mass Metering Programme aim to accelerate deployment, improve billing transparency, and reduce disputes between consumers and DisCos.
However, stakeholders continue to cite funding constraints, foreign exchange challenges, and supply chain issues as obstacles to achieving universal metering.
