The Federal Government says 668,000 electricity meters have been deployed and installed at customers’ premises under the first phase of the World Bank-financed Distribution Sector Recovery Programme.
The figure represents about 65 per cent of the 1.033 million meters delivered under the programme, according to the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi. He disclosed this after the second 2026 meeting of the National Council on Privatisation, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Gbeleyi said the council received an update on the progress of the metering programme, which is designed to improve electricity billing and help address Nigeria’s long-standing metering gap.
According to him, 1.033 million meters had been delivered under Phase One of the programme, with 668,000 already installed at customers’ locations. The initiative is being implemented under the $500 million World Bank-financed Distribution Sector Recovery Programme.
The deployment is part of the Federal Government’s wider effort to increase the number of electricity consumers with functional meters and reduce dependence on estimated billing.
Estimated billing has remained a major source of complaints within Nigeria’s electricity market, particularly among customers who argue that they are sometimes billed for electricity consumption that does not accurately reflect the amount of power supplied to them.
A functional meter allows electricity consumption to be measured directly, giving customers a clearer basis for understanding their bills and helping distribution companies obtain more accurate information about electricity usage.
The latest figures nevertheless show that the metering challenge has not been completely resolved. While 668,000 meters have been installed under the programme, about 365,000 of the meters delivered under the first phase had yet to be installed at the time of the latest update.
The government has previously acknowledged the scale of Nigeria’s metering gap and introduced multiple programmes aimed at accelerating deployment. In December 2024, about 5.5 million of the country's 10.1 million active electricity customers were reported to have meters.
The latest installation figures therefore represent additional progress, but they should not be interpreted as meaning that Nigeria’s entire electricity metering gap has been eliminated.
The government is also pursuing the Presidential Metering Initiative alongside the World Bank-backed programme. The broader objective is to increase metering coverage and improve transparency across the electricity distribution system.
Beyond metering, the National Council on Privatisation also reviewed developments surrounding the implementation of the Electricity Act.
Gbeleyi said about 17 states had established their own electricity regulatory commissions since April 2024. He identified Akwa Ibom as the latest state to establish such a commission, doing so in July 2026.
The transition towards state electricity regulatory commissions is part of the changes introduced by the Electricity Act 2023, which allows states to take greater responsibility for regulating electricity markets within their jurisdictions, subject to the provisions of the law.
Gbeleyi said some aspects of the implementation still required clarification and further harmonisation. The council consequently directed relevant stakeholders, including the Attorney-General of the Federation, Minister of Power, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and BPE, to continue discussions on the matter.
The developments come as the Federal Government seeks to improve the performance of Nigeria’s electricity sector and ensure that consumers receive greater value from the system.
For electricity customers, however, the significance of the metering programme will ultimately depend on whether the installation of meters leads to more accurate billing, fewer disputes and improved confidence in electricity distribution companies.
Metering alone cannot resolve the sector’s wider challenges, including inadequate generation, transmission constraints, distribution losses and unreliable electricity supply.
The government will therefore face the additional task of ensuring that the newly installed meters remain functional and that customers can obtain timely assistance when faults or technical problems occur.
For now, the installation of 668,000 meters marks a significant stage in the first phase of the World Bank-supported programme, while hundreds of thousands of additional meters delivered under the scheme remain to be deployed.
The Federal Government is expected to continue the installation programme as part of its broader effort to reduce the metering gap and improve transparency in Nigeria’s electricity market.
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