2.5m Meters At Risk,  As FG, DisCos Trade Blame

Adebayo Obajemu 

Adebayo Adelabu, Nigeria’s Minister of power, has named  electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) as the most critical bottleneck in Nigeria’s power sector, working against  gains in generation and transmission  in spite of  sweeping reforms.

Speaking at a two-day Senate Committee on Power retreat recently , Adelabu noted that  DisCos’ poor performance, aging infrastructure, and financial mismanagement have given rise to a situation where millions of Nigerians are  without reliable electricity, despite increased generation capacity and a stabilised national grid.

The Minister called on  the National Assembly to enact stricter laws criminalising power infrastructure vandalism, describing it as economic sabotage. He revealed that the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has installed 74 high-capacity transformers since 2024, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, yet vandalism and illegal connections persist.

“Our towers are toppled, meters are bypassed, and people engage in power theft—these must be treated as criminal offences, not civil matters,” he said.

He also outlined  TCN’s financial struggles, saying that the agency operates solely on dwindling internally generated revenue (IGR), which is insufficient for salaries, let alone infrastructure upgrades. He called for TCN’s inclusion in federal appropriations to sustain transmission expansion.

Adelabu particularly mentioned  DisCos as the sector’s biggest letdown,  referencing  their failure to invest in infrastructure, remit revenues, and curb electricity theft.

“DisCos have disappointed us. Whatever we achieve in generation and transmission means nothing if distribution fails,” he said.

He said, “We need to get tough with the DisCos, as they can easily frustrate all the gains we have made. They have disappointed us in performance expectations. Whatever we do in generation does not mean anything to consumers if it is frustrated at the distribution points”.

He said that  the 2003, restructuring of the sector, the DisCos were  meant to have technical partners, but many of them showed partnership with foreign companies for that purpose, which lasted for about three months.

“So, we need utility companies that can invest in the sector to improve infrastructure, improve service. A lot of them went to the banks to take loans to buy the assets, after taking over, instead of providing infrastructure, they are taking out the money to pay the loans”, Adelabu said.

He disclosed that in Q4 2024, Northern DisCos remitted only 30 percent (N124.4 billion) of their N408.86 billion invoice, with Abuja DisCo contributing 85 percent of payments.

Southern DisCos performed slightly better at 67 (N254.6 billion), but 70 percent of that came from Lagos alone, exposing severe regional disparities due to neglected networks outside economic hubs.

“These discrepancies are due largely to crumbling infrastructure outside economic hubs, where underinvestment has left networks dilapidated”, the minister lamented.

Metering gap, Subsidy Burden Worsen Situation

The Minister acknowledged that the metering gap remains a major revenue drain, with only 75,000 meters deployed in April under the N700 billion Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI). An additional 200,000 are expected in May, but the backlog persists.

Worse still, the sector faces a N4 trillion subsidy debt to generation companies, including ₦1.94 trillion for 2024 alone. Monthly subsidy shortfalls now exceed ₦200 billion, making current tariffs unsustainable.

Adelabu disclosed  plans to restructure underperforming DisCos, enforce stricter performance benchmarks, and attract private investment into distribution networks. He also revealed ongoing efforts to revive the 1,000MW Makurdi hydropower project, complete the abandoned 215MW Kaduna thermal plant, and concession the 10MW Katsina wind farm.

“Without urgent investment in distribution, generation and transmission improvements will not translate to reliable power for Nigerians,” he warned.

Many commentators have pointed out that the country's  protracted  electricity metering debacle is  gradually morphing into  a fresh institutional standoff, with the Federal Government pointing accusing fingers at  electricity distribution companies (DisCos)  for intentionally frustrating free meter installation that could see as many as 2.5 million meters lying idle in warehouses by the end of 2026.

James Ojo, an energy expert backed the Minister's claim, saying the Federal Government should sanction any DISCO frustrating the metering initiative.

" The National Assembly should enact laws that will come hard against sabotage. We have condoned the inefficiency of these DISCOs for too long", he said.

"Recall that the meters, under the National Mass Metering Programme and the President Power Initiative, with strong backing  from the World Bank and Federation Account, were meant to cut down  the current seven million metering gap in the country. 

"The bold initiative if unencumbered , could  have stemmed the pervasive  use of estimated billing, a long standing practice that has ignited  deep seated consumer anger and frustration as well as erosion of  trust in the power sector. Many consumers have continued to wonder that in spite of  the availability of meters and fully paid installers, deployment progress has been frustrating, allegedly deliberately slow .

Recently  Adelabu, said that only about 150,000 meters have been fully installed out of an initial one million already procured under the Federal Government’s free metering scheme. 

According to him, if the current slow process of installation continues,  the stock of unused meters could rise to  about 2.5 million as additional batches arrive.

Consumers have wondered why the government which is adequately  represented on the board and owns about 40 per cent share continue to blame the DisCos squarely for the delays, and yet no punitive measure has been taken against them 

According to the Minister, DISCOs   have failed to provide accurate customer data and adequate support to installers, effectively stalling deployment.

The ministry noted that the current intervention was fuelled by years of underperformance by DisCos that are legally responsible for metering their customers. 

The Minister averred that  operators’ inability to  bridge the metering gap forced  the Federal Government to  wade in  through the World Bank–funded Distribution Sector Recovery Programme.

It must be noted that under  the initiative,  the government accessed  grants to procure meters directly for consumers, building  the cost of installation into the procurement to ensure households pay nothing. Each meter is  said to have been configured specifically for the DisCo operating in the area where it will be installed, making it technically impossible to transfer meters across franchise zones.

According to the government, suuppliers, have already been fully paid for both the meters and their installation. Government insisted that charging consumers separately for installation would upend  uptake and work against the goal of universal metering. Yet, despite these safeguards, meters are reportedly piling up in DisCos’ warehouses.

The Minister’s team blamed   poor enumeration and inaccurate customer information as the major roadblocks, noting that  installers are often sent to wrong addresses or to premises that are not technically ready for metering. 

In some cases, they said, only four out of every ten identified sites are viable for immediate installation.

He noted that  a meeting was in the pipeline-  with key stakeholders include the World Bank, Bureau of Public Enterprise and the distribution companies, Adelabu  stated that repeated meetings involving the Ministry of Power, the procurement team and the World Bank have sought to resolve the impasse, but the pace of installation remains far below expectations. 

The gap between supply and deployment may not be closed soon given that only  1.5 million meters expected under ongoing initiatives, including the Presidential Metering Initiative.

The Minister assured that  the government is ready  to intervene more forcefully, including helping DisCos clean up customer data if necessary, to ensure installers can work efficiently. 

According to him, ending estimated billing is non-negotiable for the administration’s power sector reforms.

DisCos kicks 

In the face of the Federal Government's disclosure of the state of affairs in respect of metering,  a distribution company (DisCo) in Nigeria’s northern region has punctured the claims that electricity distributors are intentionally hedging and frustrating the national mass metering programme, noting  that poor contractor capacity and weak logistics are responsible for delays.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior official at the Ikeja  DisCo said that while 1.4 million meters were contracted nationally,  actual deliveries to individual DisCos had come significantly short. According to the official, 109,251 meters were contracted for the utility, but fewer than half were delivered. 

“Only about 49,000 meters were supplied to us, representing roughly 47 per cent delivery. Out of that figure, about 33,000 have already been installed,” the source said, adding that just 16,000 meters currently remain in storage.

The official disclosed that installation had improved in recent weeks, with an average of 800 meters installed daily, but warned that the DisCo would exhaust its existing stock within a month unless fresh deliveries were made.

Addressing frequent complaints around Know Your Customer (KYC) data, the source rejected the claim that poor data quality was responsible for slow installations. Instead, the official blamed the decision to appoint a single installer to cover multiple states. “In our DisCo, which operates across four states, there is only one installer, without a single operational vehicle. Installers move around on motorcycles and tricycles, sometimes carrying meters by hand,” the source said.

According to the official, subcontracted installers are paid as little as N200 for customer surveys and N1,000 for installations, discouraging thorough pre-installation checks.

“Our data is not perfect, but it is 80 to 90 per cent accurate. It is dynamic by nature. Customers can self-meter at any point, which is why inspections are mandatory,” the source explained.

The official also alleged that contractors frequently fail to complete surveyed locations before requesting additional customer data. “You cannot survey 5,000 customers, install only 2,000, and then blame KYC,” the source said.

However, a DisCo in the southern region dismissed allegations that distributors were hoarding meters.

“The DISREP metering programme being referenced has not even commenced for us. We do not have a single meter from that scheme in our possession,” a senior official said. 

“The idea that we are frustrating a programme meant to support our business does not make sense.”

Meanwhile, a source familiar with the matter at the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said some DisCos had delayed meter installations under the Meter Acquisition Fund, preferring direct cash allocations to procure meters themselves. The source noted that similar arrangements in the past had resulted in protracted legal disputes, including during the first phase of mass metering involving the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The conflicting accounts undercut growing  tensions among regulators, contractors and DisCos over responsibility for Nigeria’s stalled metering drive.

About 12 years after the privatisation of the power sector, millions of households remain on estimated billing, paying opaque charges that often bear little relation to actual consumption.

Principal Facilitator at the FUPRE Energy Business School and Executive Director of the Emmanuel Egbigah Foundation, Prof Wunmi Iledare, described the situation as a symptom of deeper structural and governance failures in the power sector.

Iledare said it is ironic for the Federal Government, being a part-owner of the DisCos, to publicly complain about their conduct without addressing underlying regulatory lapses.

According to Iledare, inefficiencies in electricity distribution are sustained by a pseudo-monopoly market structure in which regulatory enforcement has been weak. He questioned why the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has been reluctant to apply sanctions, noting that effective regulation requires a balance of incentives and penalties to ensure efficiency, equity and ethical conduct.

He said the continued reliance on estimated billing, often without any clear plan to reconcile charges with actual consumption, is unfair to consumers and erodes confidence in the electricity market. The practice, he added, violates basic principles of fairness and transparency.

Iledare warned that under the current regulatory environment, it is unrealistic to expect DisCos to improve performance. He also noted that by tolerating inefficiency and poor service delivery, the Federal Government is undermining the value of its own investments in the sector, both financially and reputationally.

He called for stronger regulatory enforcement and reforms aimed at protecting consumers, promoting metering, and restoring credibility to Nigeria’s electricity market.

A coalition of civil society groups has thrown its weight behind the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, over his directive that electricity meters procured under the World Bank–funded Distribution Sector Recovery Programme must be installed for consumers free of charge.

In a release  recently, the Nigerian Human Rights Community (NHRC), a coalition of about 130 civil society and community-based organisations established in 2003, noted that  the minister’s decision was  in the best interest of Nigerians. The statement was signed by the group’s officials, Fred Ojinika and Tunde Olaoye.

The coalition noted  that despite government assurances that the meters are free, some electricity distribution companies (DisCos) continue to demand between N200,000 and N350,000 from consumers as connection and installation fees. It described Adelabu’s intervention as the “best New Year gift” to electricity users, saying it has received widespread support from civil society, industrialists and consumers.

NHRC said its offices across the country are inundated with complaints of exploitation, including allegations of deliberate damage to meters and practices aimed at forcing consumers onto estimated billing. The group accused some DisCos of incompetence and greed, warning that arbitrary billing and high tariffs are pushing Nigerians away from grid electricity.

The coalition said it is prepared to mobilise mass action against DisCos to compel them to respect the rights and dignity of electricity consumers.