FG installs 707,765 meters in Q2, 4.8 million electricity customers remain unmetered

In the first half of 2026, the Federal Government installed 707,765 electricity meters across Nigeria, marking a 71% increase from the 412,792 meters installed in the same period last year, according to Nairametrics' analysis of data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). These installations included 357,495 meters in the first quarter and 350,270 meters in the second quarter, compared to 187,161 and 225,631 meters respectively in the same quarters of 2025.

The surge in meter installations is part of the government's strategy to reduce the number of unmetered electricity customers and enhance billing transparency in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). Of the 350,270 meters installed in the second quarter, the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP) accounted for the majority.

Despite this progress, over 4.8 million active registered customers remained without meters at the end of June, underscoring the significant metering gap. To address this issue, NERC continues to employ monthly energy caps as a protective measure for unmetered customers in states where metering arrangements have not yet been fully implemented.

These caps set a maximum energy billing amount for unmetered customers each month, calculated based on the energy received by Distribution Companies (DisCos) and the consumption of metered customers. This measure aims to limit charges for customers without meters while the broader metering program proceeds. The first half of 2026's installation figures reflect ongoing efforts to accelerate metering across Nigeria, driven by a $500 million World Bank-financed initiative.

Even with the increased metering activity, a substantial number of electricity customers remained unmetered at the end of June, indicating the scale of the challenge.