Metering raises hopes on viability of electricity sector

October 5, 2026 by Muyiwa Lucas A renewed surge in electricity metering is raising hopes of increase revenue collection for operators across the electricity value chain. A second quarter report by the industry regulator, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), showed that in the second quarter of 2026, a total of 7, 743, 839 out of a total 12, 589, 486 active registered customers in the NESI have been metered. According to the report, the figure translated to 61.51 per cent metering rate as of the end of June 2026. In 2025, Nigeria’s electricity metering gap hovered around 5.4 million to over 5.8 million unmetered customers, with the national metering rate remaining under 58 per cent. A breakdown of the latest figures showed that a total of 350,270 meters were installed in the second quarter of 2026. The figure however represented a decrease of 17.97 per cent compared to the 426,985 meters installed in first quarter of 2026. During the quarter, 205,486 meters or 58.67 per cent of the total installations, were installed under the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP) framework; 123,833 meters were installed under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) framework; 13,028 meters were installed under the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) framework; 7,643 meters were installed under the DisCo Financed framework, and 280 meters were installed under the Vendor Financed framework. READ ALSO: Who killed MKO?​ The DISREP is a $500 million initiative by the Federal Government backed by the World Bank to improve the financial and technical performance of electricity Distribution Companies. The MAP scheme is a regulatory initiative introduced by the NERC to fast-track the rollout of prepaid meters and eliminate estimated billing; MAF is aimed at fast-track end-use meter deployment and close the country’s severe metering gap. The MAF pools market-based funds to create a secure, credible revenue stream that helps utilities unlock long-term financing. NERC explained that 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. This sets the maximum amount of energy that may be billed to an unmetered customer for the respective month based on gross energy received by the DisCo and consumption by metered customers on their respective feeders. Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf said the improvement in metering was commendable as metering has been a major challenge in the industry which has contributed significantly to commercial losses. “I think it’s a good development, because one of the challenges that we have in that sector is the challenge of metering. And the metering has been contributing to what they call commercial losses. So with an improvement in the metering now, we are likely to see less losses. “And that will impact positively on the liquidity in the sector, which is a very good development. But of course there are still a whole lot of issues, particularly around transmission, that we need to deal with. And there’s also the issue of appropriate tariffs,” Yusuf said. He described the new metering report as a step forward given that improved metering would aid in national economic planning because electricity is key to industrialisation. “The impact of having a 100 per cent metering will be massive because when you have an improvement in electricity situation generally, it enhances productivity in the economy. And this issue of metering is one of the variables impacting the capacity of the sector to deliver. There are many variables, but this is just one of them. So this will of course impact on productivity to the extent that it improves the capacity of the discourse to deliver power,” Yusuf said. Market analysts expected that with adequate metering, the commercial losses of the DisCos will be greater reduced, making for better liquidity of the entities. For instance, in the period under review, the cost value of the total energy supplied by all DisCos in second quarter 2026 was N946.57 billion, and the naira value of the total energy billed was N744.67 billion. This translated to a billing efficiency of 78.67 per cent. Related News FG invites investors to boost electricity sector Safety in electricity sector can’t be compromised, says Rep panel Nigerian electricity sector: Way forward Comparatively, the naira value of the total energy supplied by all DisCos in first quarter 2026 was N955.19 billion, and the naira value of the total energy billed was N756.93 billion, which translated to a billing efficiency of 79.24 per cent. This means that at an aggregate level, DisCos recorded a 0.57 per cent decrease in billing efficiency between first quarter 2026 and second quarter 2026. In second quarter 2026, DisCos cumulatively recorded billing losses of N201.90 billion, driven largely by a combination of commercial losses, including energy theft and poor energy accounting; inability of DisCos to bill energy at the weighted average allowed tariff. The disaggregated performance of the DisCos shows that Eko DisCo recorded the highest billing efficiency of 88.38 per cent, while Kaduna DisCo recorded the lowest billing efficiency of 61.92 per cent. This feat is not surprising given that Ikeja Electric, Eko DisCo, and Abuja DisCo (AEDC) consistently lead Nigeria’s power sector in metering coverage. According to official data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) data, these three companies are the only utilities to significantly breach the average national metering benchmark. These three DisCos dominate nationwide performance thanks to high-density urban customer bases and faster deployment frameworks. For instance, Ikeja Electric (IE) consistently ranks at or near the very top. By late 2025, IE recorded a metering coverage rate of about 84.8 per cent to 86.4 per cent, successfully metering over 1.1 million of its active customer base. Eko DisCo (EKEDC) is also neck to neck with IE with an 84.2 per cent to 85.8 per cent metering rate. EKEDC has historically maintained the highest asset-to-customer efficiency, leaving fewer than 15 per cent of its consumers on estimated billing. Abuja DisCo (AEDC): Anchoring the Federal Capital Territory and surrounding states, Abuja holds a strong third position with a metering rate averaging 73.9 per cent to 76.5 per cent by the end of 2025. Still in the same quarter under review, in the area of electricity generation, in the Q2 of 2026, 28 power plants supplied electricity to the national grid, consisting of five hydro, two steam, 19 open cycle gas turbines (OCGT) and two combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) plants. Similarly, within the same period, the average available generation capacity of the grid-connected power plants decreased marginally by 3.80MW (-0.09 per cent) from 4,457.96MW recorded in Q1 2026 to 4,454.17MW. Across the quarters, 15 out of the 28 grid-connected power plants recorded increases in available capacity, while 12 recorded decreases. The report further revealed that that Alaoji 1 power plant, which had zero available generation capacity from second quarter 2025 to first quarter 2026 due to prolonged gas supply constraints, temporarily resumed operations in second quarter 2026, with an average available generation capacity of 23.20MW during the quarter. Notable decreases in average available generation capacity in Q2 2026 compared to Q1 2026 occurred at Kainji 1, recording -110.12MW; Geregu 1 with – 78.28MW; Afam 1 recorded -51.01MW and Sapele 2 recording -35.44MW. Conversely, there were increases in average available capacities with Afam 2 recording +87.96MW; Omotosho 1 recorded +59.65MW; Olorunsogo 1 rose by +53.39MW and Omotosho 2 recorded +50.65MW power plants in Q2 2026 compared to 2026/Q1. Furthermore the available capacity of all the hydropower plants decreased by 7.33 per cent in second quarter 2026 to 1,469.42MW compared to first quarter 2026 which was 1,585.66MW. NERC explained that the decrease was driven largely by the significant decrease in the available capacity of Kainji 1 which had a drop in generation of about -110.12MW during the quarter. The decrease in available capacity at Kainji1, it explained, was due to the shutdown of some units in the power plant for mechanical repairs and annual maintenance at different times throughout the quarter.