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The Federal Government installed 707,765 electricity meters across Nigeria in the first half of 2026, representing a 71% increase from the 412,792 meters installed in the corresponding period of 2025.
This is according to Nairametrics’ review of quarterly data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for the period.
The installations comprised 357,495 meters in the first quarter and 350,270 in the second quarter, compared with 187,161 and 225,631 meters, respectively, in the corresponding quarters of 2025.
The increase comes as the government expands metering under several frameworks while seeking to reduce the number of unmetered electricity customers and improve billing transparency across the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
Metering reaches 61.51% nationwide
NERC said 350,270 meters were installed during the second quarter, with the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP) accounting for the largest share of installations.
- “During the quarter, 205,486 meters (58.67% of the total installations) were installed under the DISREP framework, 123,833 meters were installed under the MAP framework, 13,028 meters were installed under the MAF framework, 7,643 meters were installed under the DisCo Financed framework, and 280 meters were installed under the Vendor Financed framework.”
- “As of the end of June 2026, 7,743,839 out of the total 12,589,486 active registered customers in the NESI were metered, translating to a metering rate of 61.51%,” NERC noted.
The figures show that more than 4.8 million active registered customers remained without meters at the end of June, highlighting the scale of the metering gap despite the increase in installations.
Energy caps protect unmetered customers
NERC said it has continued to use monthly energy caps as a safeguard for customers who remain unmetered in states where the relevant arrangements have not yet transitioned.
- “As a safeguard for unmetered customers against exploitation, the Commission has continued to issue monthly energy caps for all feeders in each DisCo for States that have not transitioned.”
The caps determine the maximum amount of energy that can be billed to an unmetered customer each month.
NERC said the calculation is based on the gross energy received by each DisCo and the consumption recorded by metered customers on their respective feeders.
The measure is intended to limit the amount that can be charged to customers who do not yet have meters while the wider metering programme continues.
FG expands World Bank meter programme
The H1 installation figures come amid a broader Federal Government effort to accelerate metering through the $500 million World Bank-financed Distribution Sector Recovery Programme.
- In August, Nairametrics reported that the Federal Government had deployed and installed 668,000 electricity meters on customers’ premises, representing 60% of the 1,033,000 meters delivered under the first phase of the programme.
- The programme had faced a procurement dispute earlier in the year after a court injunction obtained by the Association of Meter Manufacturers of Nigeria stalled the procurement of 1.55 million smart meters.
- The dispute was subsequently resolved, with the Federal Government announcing in July that it would deploy 1.56 million meters before the end of 2026 after reaching an agreement with local meter manufacturers and securing the withdrawal of the injunction.
The latest NERC figures indicate that metering activity continued to expand during the first half of the year, although a substantial number of electricity customers remained unmetered at the end of June.
