NERC metering update shows over 148,000 new installations in May and June 2025, pushing national metering rate to 54.33%

NERC metering update reveals a steady rise in electricity customer coverage across Nigeria, with a total of 148,077 new meters installed in May and June 2025.

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According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s latest factsheet released on Wednesday, 63,180 customers were metered in May, followed by 84,897 in June.

This development brings the total number of metered customers in the country to 6,422,933 as of June 2025.

This incremental growth pushed the national metering rate from 53.78 per cent in May to 54.33 per cent in June, reflecting continued—though modest—progress in closing the gap between metered and unmetered electricity users.

The total number of active electricity customers nationwide also increased slightly from 11,784,842 in May to 11,821,194 in June, as per NERC’s latest data.

Among the 12 distribution companies, Ikeja DisCo led with the highest metering rate of 84.65 per cent, closely followed by Eko at 83.33 per cent and Abuja at 73.06 per cent.

On the other end, Yola DisCo recorded the lowest metering rate at just 28.55 per cent, with Jos and Kaduna trailing at 29.51 and 33.46 per cent respectively.

Aba Power was highlighted as the most improved DisCo, increasing its metering coverage from 37.88 per cent in May to 45.17 per cent in June by deploying 12,376 new meters.

Benin DisCo also crossed the 50 per cent mark for the first time, improving slightly from 49.95 to 50.33 per cent.

Despite these gains, more than half of the country’s distribution companies are still metering fewer than 50 per cent of their customers.

This leaves millions dependent on estimated billing—an issue that continues to fuel widespread dissatisfaction due to its often arbitrary and inflated nature.

In response, NERC reiterated its energy cap policy, which sets maximum billing limits for unmetered customers based on feeder-level consumption patterns.

However, enforcement challenges persist, with the commission noting frequent breaches of these caps by DisCos, some of which have already faced regulatory sanctions.

Metering remains one of the most contentious issues in Nigeria’s power sector. Alongside unreliable supply and billing complaints, it has been cited in multiple NERC quarterly reports as a leading cause of consumer grievances.

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While the NERC metering update offers cautious optimism, millions of Nigerians continue to wait for fair and transparent billing through functional metering.