KEY POINTS
- Nigeria’s national metering rate rose to 57.27% in December 2025, a slight increase from 56.54% recorded in November.
- Distribution Companies (DisCos) installed 109,556 new meters in December, surpassing the 88,592 installations completed the previous month.
- Ikeja, Eko, and Abuja DisCos remain the industry leaders, with all three maintaining metering levels above 76%.
- Over 5.1 million registered electricity customers remain unmetered across the country as of the end of 2025.
MAIN STORY
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has revealed that the national metering rate reached 57.27% by the end of December 2025. This progress comes as the commission continues its push to eliminate estimated billing across the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). The data, released in NERC’s latest monthly factsheet, shows a steady month-on-month improvement in infrastructure deployment.
As of December 2025, the total number of metered customers in Nigeria reached 6,966,584 out of a total of 12,163,412 active customers. While December saw a 23.7% increase in installation velocity compared to November, significant performance gaps persist between regional operators. Ikeja DisCo leads the federation with a metering rate of 86.40%, followed closely by Eko DisCo at 85.87%.
Conversely, the “red zone” continues to be dominated by northern and regional DisCos. Yola DisCo recorded the lowest performance at 30.80%, while Jos (31.43%) and Kaduna (34.42%) also lag significantly behind the national average. These disparities highlight the ongoing challenge of achieving uniform energy infrastructure investment across Nigeria’s diverse geographic regions.
WHAT’S BEING SAID
- “Nigeria’s electricity metering rate has risen to 57.27 per cent by the end of December 2025… reflecting accelerated efforts to address the persistent metering gap,” according to the NERC Metering Factsheet.
- Regarding the leadership in the sector: “Ikeja, Eko, and Abuja DisCos continued to lead as top performers, with all three maintaining metering rates above 76 per cent.”
- “Visit nerc.gov.ng for more details on the industry’s efforts to close the metering gap and to stay informed on the numbers shaping the NESI,” — NERC Nigeria via official social media announcement.
WHAT’S NEXT
- NERC is expected to release the January 2026 factsheet by the end of this month to track if the December momentum continued into the new year.
- Regulatory pressure is likely to increase on DisCos in the “red zone” (below 50% metering) to accelerate their deployment schedules.
- Implementation of the N20.33 billion refund order for customers who paid for meters under the MAP scheme is set to begin this month.
BOTTOM LINE
The Bottom Line is that while total meter installations are trending upward, the wide disparity between urban-centric DisCos and northern regions remains a significant hurdle for national energy stability. NERC’s data confirms that while 57% coverage is a milestone, the journey to eliminate estimated billing for the remaining 5 million customers remains a steep climb.
 has revealed that the national metering rate reached 57.27% by the end of December 2025. This progress comes as the commission continues its push to eliminate estimated billing across the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). The data, released in NERC's latest monthly factsheet, shows a steady month-on-month improvement in infrastructure deployment.){kind=link}