By Dickson Pat
National metering rates have climbed to over 57%, with total metered customers reaching approximately 7.21 million.
However, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission ,NERC, data indicates that Kano and Yola Electricity Distribution Companies ,DisCos, lag behind in meter deployment
Recent NERC and industry data underscore wide disparities in the country’s metering progress:
Kano and Yola Electricity Distribution Companies ,DisCos, has continue to lag behind in the national infrastructure rollout, even as Nigeria’s total metered customer base reaches 7.21 million.
Data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission ,NERC, outlines the stark contrast between high-performing southern utilities and struggling northern franchise areas.
The disparity highlights structural and operational bottlenecks that continue to affect revenue collection and consumer satisfaction across Nigeria’s power grid.
The National Metering Landscape industry has achieved a national metering milestone, pushing total metered users to 7.21 million.
This development gradually lowers the total number of unmetered users subject to controversial estimated billing methods.
Despite overall progress, the deployment pace varies heavily by region.Leaderboard vs. Regional Laggards Southern and urban-centric DisCos heavily dominate the infrastructure expansion.
In contrast, the northern franchises face historical consumer enumeration issues and lower deployment capital.
However, the 11 Electricity Distribution Companies ,DisCos, recorded a combined 241,590 newly metered customers in the first two months of 2026, according to the latest factsheet released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission ,NERC
.
According to the factsheet, the national metering rate rose from 57.93% in January to 58.57% in February,
The report showed that 119,792 customers were metered in January, while 121,798 customers received meters in February, reflecting a modest month-on-month increase in metering efforts across the country.
Also during the period, the total active electricity customers increased from 12.23 million in January to 12.31 million in February.
Similarly, the number of metered customers rose from 7.09 million to 7.21 million within the same period.
According to the Commission, among the 11 electricity distribution companies, Eko and Ikeja DisCos maintained the strongest metering performance, recording metering rates above 87% in February.
It stated that Eko DisCo improved slightly from 87.15% in January to 87.62% in February, while Ikeja DisCo rose from 86.69% to 87.16%.
The Commission added that Abuja DisCo also posted a strong performance, with its metering rate climbing from 78.54% in January to 79.37% in February after adding 18,352 newly metered customers during the month.
During the period, Port Harcourt DisCo increased its metering rate from 65.47% in January to 66.36% in February; while
Benin DisCo moved from 55.16% to 56.75% after adding more than 25,000 customers in each of the two months under review.
Also, Ibadan and Enugu DisCos remained slightly above the 50% threshold. Ibadan improved from 51.99% in January to 52.23% in February, while Enugu recorded only a marginal increase from 51.79% to 51.83% after metering just 691 customers in February.
According to NERC, several northern DisCos continued to struggle with low metering penetration.
It stated that Jos DisCo increased its metering rate from 32.94 per cent in January to 34.04% in February, while Kaduna DisCo improved from 34.82% to 35.59%.
Kano DisCo posted the weakest metering expansion during the period, adding only 161 customers in January and 149 in February, with its metering rate stagnating around 35.37%.
Yola DisCo remained the least metered distribution company nationwide despite a slight improvement from 30.85% in January to 31.86% in February.
Howevet, Ikeja Electric ,IE, and Eko DisCo lead the nation significantly, both maintaining metering penetration rates above 84%.
Abuja Electricity Distribution Company ,AEDC, follows strongly as a key driver of new monthly meter installations.
Kano DisCo and Yola DisCo remain anchored near the bottom of national rankings.
Kano’s metering footprint hovers slightly above 35%, leaving more than half a million active users unmetered.
Yola DisCo faces the deepest deficit, with its metering penetration trailing near 30.8%, leaving roughly 353,000 customers on estimated bills.
DisCos traditionally point to high setup costs and an inability to independently raise enough asset financing for mass hardware acquisition.
In regions like Kano, historically less than 15% to 25% of grid-connected households were accurately captured in customer databases, complicating rollout logistics.
Slower utilities are heavily dependent on federal intervention cash injects, such as the World Bank’s $500 million sector loan and NERC’s Meter Asset Fund ,MAF, schemes, to target heavy-use or Band A customers.
