By Ayomide Otitoju
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has announced an increase in the total number of active electricity customers nationwide, rising from 11.89 million in July to 11.96 million in August 2025.
According to the Commission’s latest Metering Factsheet released on Monday via its official X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram handles, the updated data covers all 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) across the country.
“Out of these, 6.58 million customers were metered, resulting in a metering rate of 55.01%, up slightly from 54.71% in July. A total of 70,888 customers were newly metered in August, compared to 76,783 in July, reflecting ongoing metering efforts across the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI),” NERC stated.
The regulator noted that the progress reflects continuous reforms and investments in customer management by DisCos, aimed at improving billing transparency and strengthening consumer confidence.
Eko, Ikeja, and Abuja DisCos emerged as the top performers in metering coverage, with Eko DisCo achieving 84.25%, Ikeja DisCo 84.83%, and Abuja DisCo 73.92%.
Earlier in April, NERC sanctioned eight DisCos — including Abuja, Ikeja, Eko, Enugu, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, and Yola — for failing to comply with the monthly energy caps for estimated billing of unmetered customers. The Commission imposed fines totaling over ₦628 million and directed the affected companies to provide credit adjustments to impacted consumers.
In a related development, NERC’s Q2 2025 report revealed that DisCos installed 225,631 meters during the quarter, representing a 20.55% increase from the 187,161 meters deployed in Q1. Of this number, 147,823 meters (65.52%) were installed under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) framework, 65,315 under the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) scheme, 12,259 through the Vendor Financed framework, and 234 under the DisCo Financed scheme.
NERC said the progress underscores its continued commitment to achieving full metering coverage and ensuring fair billing across Nigeria’s electricity market
