… begs customers over poor power supply
By Aliyu Galadima
Electricity distribution companies ,DisCos, in Nigeria are facing renewed liquidity concerns after the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission ,NERC, directed them to return N20.33 billion to customers who paid for prepaid meters under the Meter Asset Provider ,MAP, scheme.
The instruction was issued in an amended regulatory order dated March 1, 2026, which requires all electricity distribution companies to refund affected consumers within a 12-month period.
According to the directive, the repayment will not be made as lump sums. Instead, the refunds will be credited to customers’ electricity bills in equal monthly instalments during the repayment window, a measure aimed at protecting consumers and improving trust in the electricity market.
Industry participants say the directive arrives at a difficult time for operators within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, many of whom are already grappling with significant liquidity constraints.
Executives within several distribution companies warn that the reimbursement requirement could deepen existing financial pressures.
Power sector analyst, Mr Ayodele Oni, said that while the order supports consumer rights, it may worsen the financial position of already distressed operators.
“If the persistent tariff gaps and weak revenue recovery in the sector are not addressed, policies like this could aggravate liquidity pressures and limit the ability of operators to invest in network improvements”, he said.
Energy expert, Mr Victor Agboola, said that the directive “is simply too much for operators in the industry”, noting that regulators must not “kill the geese that lay the golden eggs”, while protecting consumers.
Nigeria introduced the Meter Asset Provider scheme as part of efforts to close the country’s large metering gap and reduce disputes arising from estimated billing.
The framework allows third-party investors to supply prepaid meters directly to electricity customers. Consumers pay upfront for the meters, while distribution companies are expected to gradually reimburse the cost through credits on electricity bills.
The policy was designed to accelerate the rollout of prepaid meters across the country and reduce reliance on estimated billing. However, progress in addressing the metering gap has been hit by funding limitations, operational delays, and implementation challenges.
Customer complaints regarding delayed meter reimbursements and slow installations have persisted since the programme began.
These issues have continued to fuel tensions between consumers and electricity distribution companies while exposing broader weaknesses within Nigeria’s power sector.
Energy analysts say the refund directive also highlights deeper problems in Nigeria’s electricity market, particularly around tariffs and revenue collection.
Despite several tariff adjustments in recent years, electricity prices in parts of the market are still widely viewed as insufficient to fully cover the cost of supply.
Distribution companies also continue to lose revenue through electricity theft and inefficiencies in billing and collection systems. Aging infrastructure across distribution networks also contributes to technical energy losses, further reducing the revenue available to operators.
At the same time, high operating costs have constrained the ability of many distribution companies to invest in upgrading networks and expanding metering infrastructure.
According to analysts, these factors have collectively contributed to a liquidity crisis across Nigeria’s electricity value chain, affecting generation, transmission, and distribution segments.
Under the amended order, NERC requires all distribution companies to complete refunds to eligible customers within 12 months.
The total reimbursement obligation is estimated at N20.33 billion. Refunds will be applied directly to customers’ electricity bills and spread across equal instalments throughout the repayment period.
The directive specifically applies to consumers who purchased prepaid meters under the Meter Asset Provider scheme.
Compliance with the repayment schedule will depend largely on the financial strength and operational capacity of individual distribution companies.
In October 2025, the Nigerian government also approved the release of N28 billion to electricity distribution companies under the Meter Acquisition Fund ,MAF, Tranche B programme to support the procurement and installation of prepaid meters.
Meanwhile, Anambra-owned FirstPower Electricity Distribution Company ,FpEDC, has appealed to customers to bear with it over the poor power supply in the state, saying the problem is not its fault.
FpEDC made the appeal in a statement signed by Mr Izunna Okafor, Head of Communications on Thursday in Awka.
Okafor said the drop in supply was as a result of nationwide generation challenges and not for operational failure.
He said that electricity distribution companies operated only at the final stage of the electricity value chain and did not have a role in the generation of power or in determining how much electricity was transmitted to states.
According to him, electricity distributed in Anambra is generated elsewhere in the country and transmitted through the national grid before reaching the interface stations that supply the state.
“Whenever national electricity generation declines, the amount allocated to every distribution company across Nigeria automatically drops.
“Nigeria has recently been experiencing a major reduction in electricity generation due to a severe shortage of natural gas supply to thermal power plants which produce the bulk of electricity on Nigeria’s national grid.
“This was worsened by the disruption caused by an explosion on the Escravos-Lagos gas pipeline in December last year, an incident that affected the operations of several gas-fired power plants”, he said.
Okafor said another challenge facing operators in the sector was the huge debts owed to generation companies within the electricity market.
He said the liabilities which were estimated at about N6 trillion had significantly weakened the ability of power producers to procure adequate gas required to operate their power plants optimally.
“The ongoing Israel/US-Iran War has caused immediate scarcity of and spike in prices of petroleum products and this is further complicating the issue in Nigeria’s energy sector.
“Thermal plants rely heavily on natural gas to generate electricity, the shortage has forced several generating units to shut down or operate below their installed capacity”, he said.
On the planned protest by customers in Anambra, FpEDC said it recognised that they had the constitutional right to express their feelings but appealed to them to understand the challenges of the company.
He said protests directed at distribution companies may not yield the desired results as the root causes of electricity shortage lay with the generation which was beyond the control of the distribution company.
He, however, reassured customers that FirstPower was committed to transparency, fair billing, regulatory compliance and improved customer engagement in Anambra.
According to him, once national electricity generation improves and allocations increase, supply to Anambra State will also improve correspondingly”.
