Electricity meter installations hit five-quarter high at 357,495 in....

Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) installed 357,495 electricity meters in the first quarter of 2026, the highest quarterly deployment in the past five quarters, as the Federal Government intensified efforts to close Nigeria’s metering gap.

The latest figures, contained in the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) First Quarter 2026 Report, showed that meter installations rose by 10.38 per cent from 323,864 recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The increase was driven largely by the Federal Government’s Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), which accounted for more than one-third of all meters installed during the period.

According to NERC, 357,495 end-user customers were metered across the country’s 11 electricity distribution companies in the first quarter.

Eight DisCos recorded higher meter installations during the quarter, with Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company posting the highest growth of 119.53 per cent. However, Kano, Enugu and Abuja DisCos recorded declines of 94.81 per cent, 89.48 per cent and 10.42 per cent, respectively.

The commission said 129,224 meters, representing 36.14 per cent of the total installations, were deployed under DISREP. Another 118,681 meters (33.19 per cent) were installed through the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme, while 97,992 meters (27.41 per cent) were deployed under the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF).

In addition, 10,589 meters (2.96 per cent) were installed under the DisCo-financed framework, while 1,009 meters (0.28 per cent) came through the Vendor-financed framework.

NERC noted that DISREP has emerged as the largest metering intervention in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, significantly accelerating meter deployment across the distribution companies.

An analysis of the commission’s data showed that the first quarter of 2026 recorded the strongest quarterly metering performance since the beginning of 2025.

Meter installations increased from 187,161 in the first quarter of 2025 to 225,631 in the second quarter, 228,614 in the third quarter, 323,864 in the fourth quarter and 357,495 in the first quarter of 2026.

The commission said DISREP is a Federal Government initiative supported by a $500 million World Bank facility aimed at improving the financial and technical performance of electricity distribution companies while closing Nigeria’s metering gap through the deployment of 3.2 million smart meters.

According to NERC, DISREP installations commenced in May 2025, with 217,784 meters deployed under the programme as of the end of the first quarter of 2026.

During the first quarter alone, 129,224 meters were installed under DISREP, representing a 29.81 per cent increase from the 99,545 meters deployed in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Among the distribution companies, Benin DisCo recorded the highest number of DISREP installations with 26,083 meters, followed by Abuja DisCo with 24,072 meters and Port Harcourt DisCo with 22,145 meters.

Nigeria continues to face a significant metering deficit, with millions of electricity consumers still subject to estimated billing.

NERC said expanding metering remains one of its major reform priorities to improve billing transparency, reduce commercial losses and strengthen revenue collection across the electricity sector.

The commission added that while the MAP scheme enables approved private vendors to supply prepaid meters directly to customers, the Meter Acquisition Fund was introduced to accelerate deployment through central funding, with DISREP expected to deliver 3.2 million smart meters nationwide under the ongoing power sector reform programme.