Electricity distribution companies across Nigeria installed a combined 241,590 meters in the first two months of 2026 as efforts to reduce estimated billing and narrow the country’s metering gap continued.
Data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in its January and February 2026 metering fact sheet showed that 119,792 customers received meters in January, while 121,798 customers were metered in February.
The report revealed that the number of metered electricity customers increased from 7,086,376 in January to 7,208,174 in February.
Despite the additional installations, the national metering rate improved only marginally from 57.93 per cent in January to 58.57 per cent in February, highlighting the persistent gap in electricity metering across the country.
According to the data, the total number of active electricity customers rose from 12,232,130 in January to 12,307,314 in February.
Analysis of the figures showed that more than five million electricity consumers remain unmetered nationwide, leaving many households and businesses exposed to estimated billing practices that have continued to generate complaints among consumers.
Among the electricity distribution companies, Eko Electricity Distribution Company retained the highest metering rate in the country at 87.62 per cent in February, up slightly from 87.15 per cent recorded in January.
Ikeja Electric followed with a metering rate of 87.16 per cent in February compared to 86.69 per cent in January, while Abuja DisCo improved from 78.54 per cent to 79.37 per cent during the period under review.
Port Harcourt DisCo also maintained performance above the national average, with its metering rate increasing from 65.47 per cent in January to 66.36 per cent in February.
Benin DisCo recorded one of the strongest performances in meter deployment. Its metering rate rose from 55.16 per cent to 56.75 per cent, while the company installed the highest number of new meters during the period.
The utility deployed 25,912 meters in January and another 25,658 in February, bringing total installations within the two months to 51,570.
Ibadan DisCo, which has the largest customer base in Nigeria, posted a metering rate of 52.23 per cent in February, slightly higher than the 51.99 per cent recorded in January.
The data showed that the utility had about 2.48 million active customers as of February, with nearly half of them still without meters.
Enugu DisCo recorded one of the weakest improvements in metering performance during the review period. Its metering rate increased marginally from 51.79 per cent in January to 51.83 per cent in February.
The utility also witnessed a significant decline in newly metered customers, dropping from 4,839 installations in January to only 691 in February.
Northern electricity distribution companies continued to post the weakest metering performance nationwide.
Jos DisCo’s metering rate improved slightly from 32.94 per cent in January to 34.04 per cent in February, while Kaduna DisCo rose from 34.82 per cent to 35.59 per cent.
Kano DisCo recorded one of the slowest deployment rates in the country, with its metering rate moving marginally from 35.36 per cent to 35.37 per cent.
The company installed just 161 meters in January and 149 in February despite serving close to 800,000 active customers.
Yola DisCo also remained among the lowest-performing utilities in terms of metering penetration, although its rate improved slightly from 30.85 per cent in January to 31.86 per cent in February.
Industry stakeholders have continued to attribute the slow pace of meter deployment to financing challenges, foreign exchange pressures, supply chain disruptions, and the rising cost of meter procurement.
The Federal Government and NERC have introduced several metering programmes in recent years aimed at reducing estimated billing, improving revenue collection, and enhancing transparency in electricity billing.
However, the latest figures suggest that Nigeria’s metering gap remains substantial, with nearly four out of every 10 electricity customers still without meters.
