By Seun Ibiyemi
Nigeria’s electricity metering rate rose to 59.69 per cent at the end of April 2026 as Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) installed 111,654 new meters during the month, according to the latest Metering Status Factsheet released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The report showed that the national metering rate improved from 59.13 per cent recorded in March, reflecting gradual progress in efforts to close the country’s longstanding metering gap.
NERC’s data revealed that the total number of metered customers increased to 7,435,733 out of 12,457,068 active electricity customers nationwide by the end of April.
Despite the improvement, more than 5 million electricity consumers across the country remain without prepaid meters, highlighting the scale of the challenge facing the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
Among the 11 electricity distribution companies, Eko Electricity Distribution Company maintained its position as the best-performing utility with a metering rate of 88.78 per cent, having metered 599,213 customers out of 674,929 active accounts.
Ikeja Electric followed with 87.93 per cent coverage, accounting for 1,182,200 metered customers from 1,344,517 active customers, while Abuja Electricity Distribution Company ranked third after crossing the 80 per cent threshold with 1,107,850 metered customers, representing 80.08 per cent of its customer base.
Although it did not record the highest coverage rate, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company led the industry in new meter deployment during April after installing 31,951 meters, raising its overall metering coverage to 53.75 per cent.
Other DisCos with metering rates above 50 per cent included Port Harcourt DisCo at 67.73 per cent, Benin DisCo at 59.14 per cent, and Enugu DisCo at 51.38 per cent.
However, the report showed that northern electricity markets continue to lag behind in meter deployment.
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Kaduna DisCo recorded a metering rate of 37.51 per cent, with 206,164 metered customers out of 549,665 active accounts, while Kano DisCo achieved 35.40 per cent coverage after metering 282,928 customers from 799,251 active users.
Similarly, Jos DisCo recorded 34.67 per cent coverage with 285,855 metered customers, while Yola DisCo remained the least metered distribution company at 34.45 per cent, serving 176,806 metered customers out of 513,274 active accounts.
NERC explained that active customers are electricity users who either purchased electricity or received bills at least once within a 12-month period.
The latest figures indicate that while Nigeria continues to make incremental progress under its metering programmes, significant regional disparities remain, underscoring the need for sustained investment to achieve universal metering and eliminate estimated billing.
