Nigeria to Install 3.5 Million Electricity Meters to Boost Power Sector Revenue

Nigeria plans to procure 3.5 million electricity meters by the end of the year to improve revenue in its struggling power sector, where over half of the customers are billed by estimates.
This move is part of a larger initiative to address the challenges faced by the power industry, including inadequate metering, which contributes to significant revenue losses.
Last month, the government signed an agreement with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority to finance the acquisition of 10 million electricity meters for households and businesses over five years, costing 1.325 trillion naira ($946 million).
“This year 2 million meters would be procured plus the 1.5 million meters being procured with World Bank support. We are going to have 3.5 million meters installed by the year end,” Adebayo Adelabu, Nigeria’s minister of power said at an energy conference organised by newspaper BusinessDay.
Adelabu mentioned that the majority of these meters would be sourced from international vendors, with a smaller portion coming from local manufacturers due to their limited production capacity. In the past, Chinese companies have frequently supplied meters to Nigeria.
Poor metering is a significant issue in Nigeria, where 7 million out of approximately 13 million customers are unmetered, according to government data. Previous attempts to meter all customers have faced various challenges.
Customers without meters are charged a fixed estimated amount regardless of the actual electricity supply, leading to widespread dissatisfaction. Last year, 57% of all complaints received by the country’s energy regulator were related to disputed bills.
The minister also revealed that competitive bidding for the first batch of 1.5 million meters has been concluded, and delivery is expected within months.
Additionally, the government has agreed to release 20 billion naira to electricity distribution companies to procure meters for large users, whose tariffs were raised in April. This measure aims to ensure that all these customers are metered by September.