DisCos Begin Nationwide Rollout of 700,000 Free Prepaid Meters After NERC Pressure

Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) across Nigeria have started distributing about 700,000 prepaid meters free of charge to customers, especially those in Band A and selected Band B categories, following sustained pressure from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for faster metering roll‑out.

At a recent NESI Stakeholders Meeting in Abuja, NERC Chairman Musiliu Oseni revealed that hundreds of thousands of meters are currently available and challenged DisCos to improve publicity and accelerate installations, stressing that the government has already invested in the metering programme.

NERC Commissioner for Corporate Services, Nathan Shatti, criticised poor compliance by some utilities on meter installation and refund processes, urging them not to treat distribution as a favour to customers and to fix network readiness issues that delay meter deployment.

Although the meters are being issued at no cost to consumers, the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) explained that the devices were procured by the federal government and will be paid for by DisCos over a 10‑year period, dismissing claims that the meters are “completely free” without any financial obligation on the part of the utilities.

The latest figures from NERC show improvements in Nigeria’s overall metering rate, with nearly 188,000 customers newly metered between September and October 2025 — yet more than five million customers remain without meters.

DisCos are also under instructions to educate customers on refunds due under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme, which compensates those who paid for meters previously through energy credit over time.