More than 41% of electricity consumers still lack meters – NERC

By Obas Esiedesa

As of February 2026, about 5.1 million consumers—roughly 41 percent of Nigeria’s 12.31 million active electricity customers—were still without prepaid meters, according to data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

The Commission’s January and February 2026 metering factsheet revealed that only 7.21 million customers had been metered by February, leaving approximately 5.1 million consumers on estimated billing.

The report noted a slight rise in the national metering rate, from 57.93 percent in January to 58.57 percent in February, after 121,798 new meters were installed during the month.

Abuja Electricity Distribution Company recorded the highest metering rate among distribution companies at 79.37 percent in February. Eko Disco and Ikeja Electric also performed strongly, with metering rates of 87.62 percent and 87.16 percent respectively, while Port Harcourt Disco achieved 66.36 percent.

Benin, Ibadan and Enugu DisCos reported metering rates of 56.75 percent, 52.23 percent and 51.83 percent respectively.

Conversely, Yola, Jos, Kaduna and Kano DisCos remained the lowest‑metered distribution companies in the country. Yola DisCo recorded the lowest metering rate at 31.86 percent, while Jos, Kano and Kaduna posted 34.04 percent, 35.37 percent and 35.59 percent respectively.

The data further indicated that Abuja DisCo added 18,352 new meters in February, while Benin and Ibadan DisCos installed 25,658 and 16,445 meters respectively.

NERC defined active customers as electricity consumers who vended or received bills at least once within a 12‑month period.

The post Over 41% of electricity consumers still without meters –NERC appeared first on Vanguard News.