Electricity Metering: FG issues fresh directive to DISCOs
The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), has ordered all electricity distribution companies (Discos) to disclose the refunds made to customers who purchased meters under the Meter Asset Providers (MAP) scheme.
Reports has it that NERC announced this directive on its social media platforms on Monday, following the commission’s first Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry Stakeholders meeting for 2025.
The MAP framework allows third-party investors to supply and maintain meters for electricity consumers, with users paying metering service fees for their usage.
According to NERC regulations, “if a customer chooses to make advance payments for meters under these guidelines, the meter’s cost shall be reimbursed through energy credits by the distribution licensee. The repayment schedule will be determined by the commission, considering an assessment of the distribution licensee’s financial status.”
Nevertheless, consumer advocacy groups have raised concerns that the Discos have been unreliable in reimbursing customers who received meters through the MAP initiative.
To ensure transparency and promote customer participation in the scheme, the regulator has mandated that refund details be publicly accessible on their websites.
“NERC has directed Discos to publish details of MAP refunds on their websites for transparency. This will demonstrate commitment and consistency to the scheme and encourage customers,” the commission stated.
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to closing the country’s metering gap, which currently affects more than seven million unmetered electricity consumers.
Olu Verheijen, Special Adviser on Energy to President Bola Tinubu, stated that the government aims to meter all consumers to reduce industry losses and improve efficiency.
“The government is intervening in the short term by making sure that the registered customers within the Disco have meters because no matter what your tariff is, you need to make sure that you can collect and reduce your collection losses. And so, that’s one of the interventions. You’ve heard about the Presidential Metering Initiative, which looks to consolidate all the different metering initiatives that are funded by different entities.
“And so, we have the ability to know what your consumption is, what you can afford to pay, and make sure that we’re collecting the revenues from that and improving cash flow that way. It’s the first approach to making sure that DisCos have the financial capacity or cash flows that are required to drive investments in reliability and green access,” Verheijen stated.
As part of ongoing efforts to reform the power sector, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) hosted its first Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) Stakeholders Meeting for 2025 at its headquarters.
According to reports, key topics discussed at the meeting included:
- Tariff methodology and its impact on state electricity transitions
- NESI liquidity and market financial assessments
- The shift towards a multi-tier electricity market and state regulatory commissions
NERC emphasized that the quarterly stakeholders’ meeting serves as a platform for industry players to assess the state of the NESI and tackle critical challenges in the sector.
