Nigeria’s electricity metering gap saw a marginal improvement at the end of 2025, as the national metering rate rose to 57.27% in December, up from 56.54% in November.
According to the latest factsheet from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), electricity distribution companies (DisCos) installed a total of 109,556 meters in December 2025, representing a significant jump from the 88,592 installations recorded the previous month.
The Numbers Behind the Surge
The increased pace of installations in the final month of the year has pushed the total number of metered customers nationwide to 6,966,584. However, despite this progress, a substantial gap remains.
- Total Active Customers: 12,163,412
- Total Metered Customers: 6,966,584
The Gap: Over 5.1 million customers (approx. 43%) still lack prepaid meters and remain subject to estimated billing.
Top and Bottom Performing DisCos
The NERC data highlights a wide disparity in performance across the 11 DisCos, with Lagos-based utilities continuing to lead the pack.
The Leaders: Ikeja DisCo recorded the highest metering rate at 86.40%, followed closely by Eko DisCo at 85.87%. Abuja DisCo (AEDC) also maintained a strong performance with a 77.81% metering rate.
The Laggards: Kaduna DisCo remains at the bottom of the table with a metering rate of just 34.42%, meaning roughly two out of every three customers in its franchise area are unmetered. Kano DisCo followed with 35.35%.
Closing the Gap: Federal Interventions
The Federal Government is intensifying efforts to eliminate estimated billing through the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI).
Under this initiative, ₦700 billion has been committed to delivering 2.5 million prepaid meters and distribution transformer meters nationwide. NERC also recently confirmed that a procurement process is underway with 42 Local Meter Manufacturers and Assemblers (LMMA) to supply an additional 750,000 meters within the next 15 months.
While the month-on-month increase in installations is a positive sign, the 43% unmetered population remains a significant bottleneck for the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
For DisCos, closing this gap is not just a regulatory requirement but a commercial necessity to reduce collection losses and resolve the persistent disputes associated with estimated billing.
The success of the ₦700 billion PMI will be the ultimate litmus test for the administration’s goal of 100% metering.
