Electricity distribution companies funded only 90,172 meters nationwide between 2019 and the third quarter of 2025, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s Third Quarter 2025 report, underscoring their limited contribution to closing Nigeria’s widening metering gap.

This indicates that the DisCos appear to have abandoned one of their duties, which is metering all eligible customers. Stakeholders have argued that it is the responsibility of the DisCos to meter their customers at no cost to them.

However, this has remained a major challenge, as the utilities made customers pay for meters with promises that they would be refunded. Many customers have argued they were not refunded through energy credit, while some decried their inability to secure meters after making payments.

Data from the NERC report showed that meters installed directly under the DisCo-Financed Framework accounted for only a marginal share of total installations over the six-year period, despite repeated regulatory directives requiring operators to accelerate customer metering.

The commission disclosed that 57,007 meters were installed between 2019 and 2023 under the framework, while 31,622 meters were added in 2024. The pace slowed sharply in 2025, with DisCos funding just 1,178 meters in the first quarter, 234 in the second quarter, and 131 in the third quarter.

The figures revealed that metering under the DisCo-financed model was driven almost entirely by two companies. Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company recorded a cumulative total of 37,156 meters.

Of this number, 36,911 meters were installed between 2019 and 2023, followed by 84 meters in 2024, 111 in the first quarter of 2025, and 50 in the second quarter of the year.

Jos Electricity Distribution Plc recorded the highest total installations under the framework, with 52,174 meters deployed between 2019 and 2025. The company installed 31,442 meters in 2024 alone, followed by 1,067 meters in the first quarter of 2025, 184 meters in the second quarter, and 131 meters in the third quarter.

Other DisCos posted negligible figures. Enugu Electricity Distribution Company installed 597 meters, all between 2019 and 2023. Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company installed 149 meters in 2024, while Kano Electricity Distribution Company deployed 96 meters in the same year.

Eko, Aba, Abuja, Benin, Ikeja, Port Harcourt, and Yola electricity distribution companies recorded zero meter installations under the DisCo-financed model as of the end of the third quarter of 2025. In total, DisCos funded only 131 meters in the third quarter of 2025, representing just 0.06 per cent of the 228,614 meters installed across all metering frameworks during the period.

The report showed that most meter deployments during Q3 2025 were executed through alternative schemes. A total of 176,302 meters were installed under the Meter Asset Provider framework, 44,104 meters under the Vendor-Financed framework, and 7,902 meters through the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme supported by the World Bank.

NERC said, “Out of the 228,614 end-use customers metered in 2025/Q3, 176,302 (77.12 per cent) of customers were metered under the Meter Asset Provider framework, 44,104 (25.01 per cent) were metered under the Vendor Financed framework, 7,902 (3.46 per cent) were metered under the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme, 175 (0.08 per cent) were metered under the Meter Acquisition Fund and 131 (0.06 per cent) were metered under the DisCo Financed framework.”

As of the end of September 2025, the commission said 6.66 million out of 12.03 million active registered electricity customers had been metered nationwide, translating to a metering rate of 55.37 per cent. The regulator explained that the Meter Acquisition Fund was introduced in February 2023 through a metering surcharge embedded in allowed tariffs.

Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company installed 175 meters under the scheme in the third quarter of 2025, bringing total installations under Tranche A to 107,461 meters. Tranche A closed in June 2025, while Tranche B was operationalised in October 2025, allowing DisCos to access N28bn for metering Bands A and B customers.

NERC also reiterated that the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme, backed by a $500m World Bank loan, targets the deployment of 3.2 million smart meters nationwide. It added that meter installations under the programme, which commenced in May 2025, stood at 7,902 by the end of the third quarter.

The commission warned that inadequate metering continued to fuel disputes over estimated billing and deepen commercial losses in the power sector, stressing that improved customer enumeration and accelerated meter deployment were critical to boosting revenue collection and reducing aggregate technical, commercial, and collection losses across the electricity market.