Nigeria’s long-running electricity metering crisis has once again taken centre stage, reigniting tensions between the Federal Government, electricity distribution companies (DisCos), and power consumers.
At the heart of the renewed controversy is a declaration by the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, that electricity meters procured under the World Bank–funded Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP) must be installed free of charge, with no payments demanded from consumers under any guise.
The pronouncement, made during an inspection of newly imported smart meters at the APM Terminals in Apapa, Lagos, has unsettled the electricity value chain and raised fundamental questions about who ultimately bears the cost of metering in Nigeria’s privatised power sector.
“I want to make it clear that these meters must be installed free of charge. Nobody should collect money from any consumer. It is illegal for DisCos or their installers to request a dime,” Adelabu said, stressing that improved metering was critical to ending estimated billing and boosting sector-wide revenue collection.
While the minister’s directive was welcomed by electricity consumers weary of arbitrary billing, it has triggered a fresh metering brouhaha, threatening to slow the rollout of about 1.5 million meters earmarked under ongoing interventions.
Metering brouhaha exposes cracks in Nigeria’s power reforms
Nigeria currently faces an estimated metering gap of about seven million customers, a deficit that has persisted despite multiple government-led interventions over the past decade.
The gap has resulted in significant revenue losses across the electricity value chain and widespread consumer dissatisfaction over estimated billing practices.l
To address the problem, successive administrations introduced several metering schemes, each with varying funding structures and degrees of success.
One of the earliest initiatives was the Credited Advance Payment for Metering Implementation (CAPMI) introduced in 2013. Under CAPMI, customers paid upfront for meters and were reimbursed through energy credits.
However, poor compliance by DisCos and limited deployment—about 500,000 meters in three years—led to the scheme’s discontinuation in 2016.
In 2018/2019, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) introduced the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme, allowing third-party investors to procure and install meters.
Customers paid upfront, with refunds spread over time via energy tokens. While MAP improved meter availability, its reliance on customer prepayment limited uptake, especially among low-income households.
The Federal Government took a more interventionist approach in 2020 with the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP), funded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Designed to provide meters at no upfront cost to consumers, the NMMP aimed to eliminate estimated billing, support local meter manufacturing, and reduce collection losses.
About ₦200 billion was earmarked for the programme, with Phase 0 targeting one million meters.
More recently, the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) launched in 2023 set an ambitious goal of deploying 10 million meters over five years, backed by the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and the World Bank.
Complementing this is the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF), financed through pooled DisCo contributions and prioritising Band A and B customers.
The latest flashpoint, however, is DISREP, a $500 million World Bank–funded programme designed to deliver 3.4 million smart meters while improving the financial and technical performance of DisCos.
Is metering ever truly free?
Despite the minister’s insistence on free installation, industry analysts argue that electricity meters in Nigeria have never been truly free. Instead, the cost is embedded in electricity tariffs and gradually recovered from consumers over time.
The Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Ayo Gbeleyi, dismissed DisCos’ claims that they would shoulder unbearable financial burdens under DISREP.
According to him, all capital investments in the sector—including transformers, feeders, and meters—are ultimately recovered through tariffs approved by the regulator.
“What consumers are paying for is already captured in the tariff design. The World Bank intervention is one of the most generous facilities ever extended to the power sector, with long tenors and moratoriums,” Gbeleyi said.
Public sector analyst Mayowa Sodipo echoed this position, noting that meter costs are deducted indirectly through electricity purchases. He argued that Adelabu’s directive, while populist in tone, could protect consumers from exploitation by installers demanding illegal fees.
“At no point was metering ever free. Consumers pay through their tokens over time. What the minister has done is to stop double billing,” Sodipo said.
DisCos, however, insist that the directive ignores operational realities. An official of a South-West DisCo, who spoke anonymously, said installation costs are often outsourced to third-party contractors, creating additional financial strain if consumers are barred from paying installation fees.
Governance gaps and policy misalignment
Beyond cost disputes, experts say the metering brouhaha reflects deeper structural and governance challenges in Nigeria’s power sector.
A Kano-based analyst, Dr Abubakar Ibrahim, argued that the absence of alignment between government agencies, regulators, DisCos, and installers has slowed progress in closing the metering gap.
“There must be a clear, sustainable framework that balances consumer protection with sector viability. Without consensus, well-intended policies may backfire,” he said.
Similarly, energy economist Prof. Wunmi Iledare described the controversy as symptomatic of regulatory weaknesses, stressing that public disputes between government and DisCos undermine investor confidence and policy coherence.
A senior DisCo official revealed that apathy toward DISREP installations stems partly from the exclusion of DisCos from key procurement decisions, including the selection of installers. According to him, while meters are labelled “free” on paper, unresolved last-mile costs remain a major deterrent.
Calls for liberalisation gain traction
As frustrations mount, some stakeholders are pushing for a radical rethink of Nigeria’s metering model. The Executive Secretary of the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), Dr Joy Ogaji, advocated full liberalisation of metering, allowing consumers to purchase meters directly from approved vendors—similar to the telecommunications sector.
Under this model, DisCos would focus on registration, standardisation, and revenue tracking, rather than procurement and installation.
“If after 15 years of privatisation metering is still a crisis, then something is fundamentally wrong,” Ogaji said.
For now, the metering brouhaha remains unresolved. While the Federal Government is determined to accelerate meter deployment and protect consumers, DisCos warn that unclear funding responsibilities could stall installations.
As Nigeria pushes to close its seven-million-meter gap, the success of DISREP and other initiatives may ultimately depend on cooperation, transparency, and a shared understanding of who pays—and how.
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