KEY POINTS
- Nigeria’s electricity metering rate rose slightly to 57.27 percent in December 2025, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
- Ikeja, Eko and Abuja electricity distribution companies recorded the highest metering coverage nationwide.
- More than 5.19 million electricity customers across Nigeria remain without meters and continue to face estimated billing.
Nigeria’s electricity sector recorded a modest improvement in metering coverage at the end of 2025, even as millions of consumers remain without meters and continue to face estimated billing.
New industry data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission shows that the national metering rate rose to 57.27 percent in December. The figure is slightly higher than the 56.54 percent recorded in November.
The latest numbers reveal that out of 12,163,412 active customers nationwide, about 6,966,584 have meters installed. That leaves roughly 5,196,828 electricity users still without meters.
Although the improvement reflects ongoing efforts by distribution companies to close the long standing metering gap, the pace of progress remains slow compared with the size of the deficit.
Meter Installations Rise in December
Data from the regulator indicates that power distributors installed 109,556 new meters in December.
This represents a noticeable increase compared with November, when 88,592 meters were deployed. The monthly rise translates to a 23.7 percent increase in meter installations.
The higher deployment helped push the national metering rate up by 0.73 percentage points within a month. During the same period, the total number of active electricity customers also grew slightly by 34,801.
Industry observers say this steady expansion in the customer base means utilities must install meters at an even faster pace to significantly reduce estimated billing.
Among Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies, three utilities continue to stand out for their relatively high metering coverage.
Ikeja Electric recorded the highest metering rate nationwide in December at 86.40 percent. The utility serves 1,308,042 active customers, of which 1,130,213 are metered. About 177,829 customers under its network still lack meters.
The company installed 7,748 new meters during the month.
