Nigeria’s long-running electricity metering crisis is sliding into a fresh institutional standoff, with the Federal Government accusing electricity distribution companies (DisCos) of frustrating free meter installation that could see as many as 2.5 million meters lying idle in warehouses by the end of 2026.

The meters, under the National Mass Metering Programme and the President Power Initiative, with support from the World Bank and Federation Account, were meant to reduce the current seven million metering gap in the country.

The move would have curbed the widespread use of estimated billing, a practice that has fuelled consumer anger and eroded trust in the power sector. Yet, despite the availability of meters and fully paid installers, deployment progress has been painfully slow.

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, disclosed that only about 150,000 meters have been installed out of an initial one million already procured under the Federal Government’s free metering scheme.

He warned that unless installation accelerates, the stock of unused meters could swell to about 2.5 million as additional batches arrive.

The government, although represented on the board and owns about 40 per cent share blame the DisCos squarely for the delays.

Speaking to The Guardian through his Special Adviser on Media, Bolaji Tunji, Adelabu said the companies had failed to provide accurate customer data and adequate support to installers, effectively stalling deployment.

According to the ministry, the intervention was necessitated by years of underperformance by DisCos that are legally responsible for metering their customers.

The Minister said operators’ inability to close the metering gap prompted the Federal Government to step in through the World Bank–funded Distribution Sector Recovery Programme.

Under the scheme, the government secured grants to procure meters directly for consumers, embedding the cost of installation into the procurement to ensure households pay nothing. Each meter is configured specifically for the DisCo operating in the area where it will be installed, making it technically impossible to transfer meters across franchise zones.

Suppliers, the government said, have already been fully paid for both the meters and their installation. The logic was simple, as charging consumers separately for installation would slow uptake and undermine the goal of universal metering. Yet, despite these safeguards, meters are reportedly piling up in DisCos’ warehouses.

The Minister’s team pointed to poor enumeration and inaccurate customer information as the main bottlenecks, disclosing that installers are often sent to wrong addresses or to premises that are not technically ready for metering.

In some cases, they said, only four out of every ten identified sites are viable for immediate installation.

Disclosing that a meeting is already being planned with key stakeholders include the World Bank, Bureau of Public Enterprise and the distribution companies, Adelabu said repeated meetings involving the Ministry of Power, the procurement team and the World Bank have sought to resolve the impasse, but the pace of installation remains far below expectations.

With another 1.5 million meters expected under ongoing initiatives, including the Presidential Metering Initiative, the gap between supply and deployment may remain wide.

The Minister said the government is prepared to intervene more forcefully, including helping DisCos clean up customer data if necessary, to ensure installers can work efficiently.

According to him, ending estimated billing is non-negotiable for the administration’s power sector reforms.

DisCos pushback

MEANWHILE, a distribution company (DisCo) in Nigeria’s northern region has pushed back against claims that electricity distributors are deliberately frustrating the national mass metering programme, arguing instead that poor contractor capacity and weak logistics are responsible for delays.

peaking on condition of anonymity, a senior official at the DisCo said that while 1.4 million meters were contracted nationally, deliveries to individual DisCos had fallen significantly short. According to the official, 109,251 meters were contracted for the utility, but fewer than half were delivered.

“Only about 49,000 meters were supplied to us, representing roughly 47 per cent delivery. Out of that figure, about 33,000 have already been installed,” the source said, adding that just 16,000 meters currently remain in storage.

The official disclosed that installation had improved in recent weeks, with an average of 800 meters installed daily, but warned that the DisCo would exhaust its existing stock within a month unless fresh deliveries were made.

Addressing frequent complaints around Know Your Customer (KYC) data, the source rejected the claim that poor data quality was responsible for slow installations. Instead, the official blamed the decision to appoint a single installer to cover multiple states. “In our DisCo, which operates across four states, there is only one installer, without a single operational vehicle. Installers move around on motorcycles and tricycles, sometimes carrying meters by hand,” the source said.

According to the official, subcontracted installers are paid as little as N200 for customer surveys and N1,000 for installations, discouraging thorough pre-installation checks.

“Our data is not perfect, but it is 80 to 90 per cent accurate. It is dynamic by nature. Customers can self-meter at any point, which is why inspections are mandatory,” the source explained.

The official also alleged that contractors frequently fail to complete surveyed locations before requesting additional customer data. “You cannot survey 5,000 customers, install only 2,000, and then blame KYC,” the source said.

However, a DisCo in the southern region dismissed allegations that distributors were hoarding meters.

“The DISREP metering programme being referenced has not even commenced for us. We do not have a single meter from that scheme in our possession,” a senior official said.

“The idea that we are frustrating a programme meant to support our business does not make sense.”

Meanwhile, a source familiar with the matter at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said some DisCos had delayed meter installations under the Meter Acquisition Fund, preferring direct cash allocations to procure meters themselves. The source noted that similar arrangements in the past had resulted in protracted legal disputes, including during the first phase of mass metering involving the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The conflicting accounts highlight deepening tensions among regulators, contractors and DisCos over responsibility for Nigeria’s stalled metering drive, as the Executive Secretary of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Sunday Oduntan, told The Guardian that the companies are not blocking or rejecting meters and have no incentive to do so.

“No, DisCos are not rejecting meters,” Oduntan said. “We want consumers to be metered, and all the free meters the government has bought will be installed free.”

He argued that the government’s intervention is intended to support DisCos, not undermine them, and stressed that distribution companies share the objective of ensuring customers are accurately metered and billed for what they consume.

Some operators had earlier reported that the high costs still exist, particularly around installation. They say installers are not DisCo staff, but are paid by the DisCos to install the meters and the government expects DisCos to shoulder these costs and recover them over 10 years.

They had warned that unless such expenses are recognised as allowable capital expenditure and reflected in tariffs, it could further weaken their balance sheets.

Some operators also said the arrangement has created confusion over responsibility, as consumers have been told not to pay installers while DisCos no longer directly handle metering, a role they claimed was removed during earlier power sector reforms.

Stakeholders cite weakness in governance, regulation

WHILE the development further shows the deeper structural weaknesses in Nigeria’s electricity market, where responsibilities are often blurred and accountability diffused, Energy economist and former President of the Nigerian Economic Society, Prof Adeola Adenikinju, said the controversy shows the need for stronger enforcement of existing rules.

In his view, the problem is less about policy design and more about implementation.

Adenikinju said, “The government should find ways to enforce its own regulations. Where DisCos fail to meet their obligations, sanctions should apply. There is also a case for empowering third parties to install meters on behalf of DisCos or even consumers. We may need to revisit the extant laws to ensure every stakeholder complies with their responsibilities.”

About 12 years after the privatisation of the power sector, millions of households remain on estimated billing, paying opaque charges that often bear little relation to actual consumption.

Principal Facilitator at the FUPRE Energy Business School and Executive Director of the Emmanuel Egbigah Foundation, Prof Wunmi Iledare, described the situation as a symptom of deeper structural and governance failures in the power sector.

Iledare said it is ironic for the Federal Government, being a part-owner of the DisCos, to publicly complain about their conduct without addressing underlying regulatory lapses.

According to Iledare, inefficiencies in electricity distribution are sustained by a pseudo-monopoly market structure in which regulatory enforcement has been weak. He questioned why the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has been reluctant to apply sanctions, noting that effective regulation requires a balance of incentives and penalties to ensure efficiency, equity and ethical conduct.

He said the continued reliance on estimated billing, often without any clear plan to reconcile charges with actual consumption, is unfair to consumers and erodes confidence in the electricity market. The practice, he added, violates basic principles of fairness and transparency.

Iledare warned that under the current regulatory environment, it is unrealistic to expect DisCos to improve performance. He also noted that by tolerating inefficiency and poor service delivery, the Federal Government is undermining the value of its own investments in the sector, both financially and reputationally.

He called for stronger regulatory enforcement and reforms aimed at protecting consumers, promoting metering, and restoring credibility to Nigeria’s electricity market.

Meanwhile, a coalition of civil society groups has thrown its weight behind the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, over his directive that electricity meters procured under the World Bank–funded Distribution Sector Recovery Programme must be installed for consumers free of charge.

In a release yesterday, the Nigerian Human Rights Community (NHRC), a coalition of about 130 civil society and community-based organisations established in 2003, described the minister’s decision as being in the best interest of Nigerians. The statement was signed by the group’s officials, Fred Ojinika and Tunde Olaoye.

The coalition alleged that despite government assurances that the meters are free, some electricity distribution companies (DisCos) continue to demand between N200,000 and N350,000 from consumers as connection and installation fees. It described Adelabu’s intervention as the “best New Year gift” to electricity users, saying it has received widespread support from civil society, industrialists and consumers.

NHRC said its offices across the country are inundated with complaints of exploitation, including allegations of deliberate damage to meters and practices aimed at forcing consumers onto estimated billing. The group accused some DisCos of incompetence and greed, warning that arbitrary billing and high tariffs are pushing Nigerians away from grid electricity.

The coalition said it is prepared to mobilise mass action against DisCos to compel them to respect the rights and dignity of electricity consumers.

Ajibola faults lack of cohesion, urges firm action on prepaid metering

Former President of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Prof Segun Ajibola, has criticised the lack of coordination within Nigeria’s electricity value chain, describing the sector as one in which generation, transmission and distribution operate as independent authorities with little cohesion.

Ajibola said prepaid metering remains a major point of resistance for distribution companies (DisCos) because it cuts off access to what he described as “undeserved revenue”, noting that customers who pay strictly for consumption are no longer exposed to arbitrary monthly billing. He argued that this reality partly explains the slow pace of metering across the country.

The former CIBN president questioned what he called the Federal Government’s apparent helplessness in enforcing its own policies on prepaid metering.

According to him, the tendency to treat DisCos as “sacred cows” has weakened regulatory authority and emboldened operators to resist reforms.

Ajibola said the government must be willing to “wield the big stick” when DisCos become recalcitrant, warning that failure to act decisively would leave electricity consumers exposed.

He asked that if the government cannot enforce prepaid metering directives, the consequences for already burdened consumers would be severe, stressing that law, order and consumer protection must take precedence in the power sector. (The Guardian)

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