Electricity distribution companies installed 241,590 meters across Nigeria in the first two months of 2026 amid ongoing efforts to reduce estimated billing and close the country’s metering gap.
Data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission in its January and February 2026 metering fact sheet showed that 119,792 customers were metered in January, while another 121,798 customers received meters in February.
The report showed that the number of metered electricity customers increased from 7,086,376 in January to 7,208,174 in February.
However, despite the additional installations, the national metering rate rose marginally from 57.93 per cent in January to 58.57 per cent in February, indicating that millions of electricity consumers are still without meters.
According to the data, the total number of active electricity customers increased from 12,232,130 in January to 12,307,314 in February.
An analysis of the figures showed that more than five million electricity customers remain unmetered nationwide, leaving them exposed to estimated billing practices that have repeatedly triggered complaints from consumers.
The report further showed that Eko Electricity Distribution Company maintained the highest metering rate among all DisCos at 87.62 per cent in February, up from 87.15 per cent recorded in January.
Ikeja Electric followed closely with a metering rate of 87.16 per cent in February compared to 86.69 per cent in January, while Abuja DisCo recorded 79.37 per cent, improving from 78.54 per cent.
Port Harcourt DisCo also remained above the national average, with its metering rate rising from 65.47 per cent in January to 66.36 per cent in February.
Benin DisCo improved from 55.16 per cent to 56.75 per cent during the review period and emerged as the utility with the highest number of newly metered customers over the two months. The utility installed 25,912 meters in January and 25,658 in February, bringing its total new installations within the period to 51,570.
Ibadan DisCo, which has the largest customer base in the country, recorded a metering rate of 52.23 per cent in February, slightly higher than the 51.99 per cent posted in January. The data showed that the utility had 2.48 million active customers as of February, but nearly half of them remained unmetered.
Also, Enugu DisCo posted one of the weakest monthly improvements in the period under review. Its metering rate moved marginally from 51.79 per cent in January to 51.83 per cent in February. The utility also recorded a sharp drop in newly metered customers, falling from 4,839 in January to just 691 in February.
Meanwhile, northern DisCos continued to record the weakest metering performance nationwide. The NERC data indicated that Jos DisCo’s metering rate rose slightly from 32.94 per cent in January to 34.04 per cent in February, while Kaduna improved from 34.82 per cent to 35.59 per cent.
Kano DisCo recorded one of the slowest meter deployment rates in the country, with its metering rate moving marginally from 35.36 per cent to 35.37 per cent. The company installed only 161 meters in January and 149 in February despite having close to 800,000 active customers.
Similarly, Yola DisCo remained below others in terms of metering penetration, although its metering rate improved slightly from 30.85 per cent in January to 31.86 per cent in February.
Stakeholders have repeatedly linked the slow pace of metering to financing constraints, foreign exchange pressures, supply chain challenges, and the high cost of meter procurement.
The Federal Government and the regulator have, in recent years, introduced several metering initiatives aimed at reducing estimated billing, improving market revenues, and boosting transparency in electricity billing.
Despite these interventions, the latest data indicate that Nigeria’s metering gap remains significant, with about four out of every 10 electricity customers still without meters.
