Despite efforts to close the metering gap in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), not less than 5.38 million registered customers nationwide remain unmetered as at August 2025.
This was revealed in the latest Metering Factsheet released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
According to the fact sheet, the total number of active customers across all Distribution Companies (DisCos) rose to 11.96 million in August from 11.89 million in July 2025.
“Out of these, 6.58 million customers were metered, resulting in a metering rate of 55.01%, up slightly from 54.71% in July,” the NERC stated via its X handle on Monday.
This means 44.99 per cent of the customers remained unmetered as of August 2025.
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NERC said a total of 70,888 customers were newly metered in August, compared to 76,783 in July, reflecting a 7.68 per cent drop from the previous month.
Top Performing DisCos in Metering Rate
Among the DisCos, Ikeja emerged top in metering rate, attaining 84.83 per cent, followed by Eko with 84.25 per cent. Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) came third with 73.92 per cent metering rate in August 2025.
Other DisCos such as Port Harcourt achieved 61.29 per cent metering rate, Aba, 60.39 per cent, Benin, 50.78 per cent, and Ibadan, 50.54 per cent. Other DisCos that performed poorly within the period under review include: Yola 28.65 per cent, Jos, 29.61 per cent, Kaduna, 33.60 per cent, Kano, 34.43 per cent and Enugu, 49.70 per cent.
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Experts have continued to highlight the need to close the metering gap across all DisCos. Their calls are driven by a critical need to resolve billing inaccuracies and improve the financial stability of the power sector.
Revenue leakages from illegal connections and meter bypassing worsen the financial health of distribution companies.
Estimated billing operated by DisCos for unmetered customers has often led to customer disputes and distrust as there are cases of over billing. DisCos, on the other hand, also struggle to recover revenue as they record low billing efficiency, fueling financial losses.
Pinnacle Daily reports that in tackling the challenge of metering, the Federal Government has over the years adopted a series of mass metering programmes (e.g., the National Mass Metering Plan) and policies to encourage private meter providers (Meter Asset Providers – MAPs) to provide prepaid meters to electricity customers through various DisCos under certain financing arrangements.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist, scholar and analyst of socioeconomic issues in Nigeria and Africa. He is skilled in energy reporting, business and economy, and holds a master's degree in Mass Communication. He can be reached via @VICTOREZEJA on X
