Estimated Billing Gap Narrows As DisCos Meter 301,726 In 2 Months, Says NERC

The estimated billing gap in Nigeria’s electricity sector has narrowed further after distribution companies metered 301,726 customers in July and August 2026, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has said.

The commission, in its latest factsheet, said the installations raised the national metering rate to 63.10 per cent in August, up from 62.37 per cent in July.

The improvement means more electricity consumers have moved from estimated billing to charges based on actual energy consumed.

The DisCos metered 159,980 customers in July and 141,746 in August, a decline of 18,234 between the two months. Despite the monthly drop, the cumulative installations lifted the total number of metered customers from 7,903,819 to 8,045,565.

NERC said active customers increased from 12,671,795 to 12,749,789 over the period, while the number of customers without meters fell from 4,767,976 to 4,704,224.

The commission defines active customers as those that vended or were billed at least once within a 12-month period.

The reduction of 63,752 unmetered active customers indicates steady progress in closing the metering gap and reducing consumers’ exposure to estimated bills, which have remained a major source of complaints in the power sector.

Ibadan DisCo recorded the highest number of new meter installations during the two months, connecting 63,172 customers, followed by Benin DisCo with 57,476.

Port Harcourt DisCo metered 43,649 customers, while Abuja DisCo connected 36,731.

Kano DisCo metered 23,119 customers, Jos 18,744, Enugu 15,903, Kaduna 15,636 and Yola 15,394. Eko DisCo metered 11,003 customers, while Ikeja recorded the lowest figure at 899.

Port Harcourt DisCo recorded the strongest monthly improvement, increasing its installations from 17,093 in July to 26,556 in August. Its metering rate rose from 69.61 per cent to 71.00 per cent, moving the utility from the amber band into the green band.

Eko DisCo recorded the highest metering rate in August at 89.64 per cent, followed by Ikeja at 87.74 per cent and Abuja at 82.62 per cent. Port Harcourt joined the three utilities in the green band, which NERC reserves for DisCos with metering rates of 70 per cent and above.

Benin, Ibadan and Enugu remained in the amber band, with metering rates of 64.41 per cent, 59.23 per cent and 52.40 per cent respectively.

Jos, Kaduna, Kano and Yola remained in the red band, with rates below 50 per cent, but all four improved on their July performance. Jos rose from 36.51 per cent to 37.60 per cent; Kaduna increased from 41.30 per cent to 42.32 per cent; Kano moved from 41.58 per cent to 42.84 per cent; while Yola improved from 37.76 per cent to 39.15 per cent.

Ikeja was the only DisCo to record a slight decline, with its metering rate easing from 87.90 per cent in July to 87.74 per cent in August.

The latest performance showed that metering rollout is gradually expanding access to consumption-based billing across the country. For the 301,726 customers metered during the period, the development offers greater visibility into electricity usage and reduces reliance on estimated charges.

Although 4.70 million active customers remain unmetered, the decline in the unmetered population suggests that the estimated billing gap is narrowing.

Sustained installations, particularly in DisCos with lower metering rates, are expected to further improve billing transparency and consumer confidence in electricity charges.