More than 5.1 million electricity consumers in Nigeria are still without prepaid meters, representing about 41 per cent of the country’s 12.31 million active power customers, according to new data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
According to The Vanguard, NERC disclosed in its January and February 2026 metering factsheet that only 7.21 million customers had been metered as of February 2026, leaving millions of consumers still subjected to estimated billing by electricity distribution companies.
The Commission noted that the national metering rate recorded only a slight improvement, rising from 57.93 per cent in January to 58.57 per cent in February after the installation of 121,798 new meters during the period.
Among the electricity distribution companies, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company recorded the highest metering rate at 79.37 per cent in February.
Eko Electricity Distribution Company and Ikeja Electric also posted strong performances with metering rates of 87.62 per cent and 87.16 per cent respectively, while Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company recorded 66.36 per cent.
According to the report, Benin, Ibadan and Enugu distribution companies recorded moderate performances with metering rates of 56.75 per cent, 52.23 per cent and 51.83 per cent respectively.
However, the report identified Yola, Jos, Kaduna and Kano distribution companies as the least metered in the country.
Yola DisCo recorded the lowest metering rate at 31.86 per cent, while Jos, Kano and Kaduna posted 34.04 per cent, 35.37 per cent and 35.59 per cent respectively.
The data also revealed that Abuja DisCo installed 18,352 new meters in February, while Benin and Ibadan DisCos added 25,658 and 16,445 meters respectively within the same period.
NERC explained that active customers refer to electricity consumers who either purchased electricity tokens or received bills at least once within a 12 month period.
The metering gap has remained a major issue in Nigeria’s power sector, with many consumers repeatedly complaining about estimated billing and inaccurate charges from electricity distribution companies.
