Nigeria’s national electricity metering rate rose to 63.10 per cent in August 2026, from 62.37 per cent in July, as electricity distribution companies (DisCos) metered an additional 141,746 customers during the month.
The latest metering factsheet released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on Wednesday showed that 8,045,565 of the country’s 12,749,789 active electricity customers had been metered by the end of August.
In July, the number of metered customers stood at 7,903,819 out of 12,671,795 active customers. However, the number of new meters installed in August was lower than the 159,980 recorded in July.
A breakdown of the figures showed that Eko, Ikeja and Abuja electricity distribution companies recorded the highest metering rates in August, with 89.64 per cent, 87.74 per cent and 82.62 per cent, respectively. While Eko and Abuja improved on their July performances, Ikeja recorded a slight decline from 87.90 per cent.
Port Harcourt DisCo was the only other distribution company to achieve a metering rate above 70 per cent, rising from 69.61 per cent in July to 71.00 per cent in August.
In terms of new meter installations, Ibadan DisCo led with 28,381 customers, followed by Port Harcourt with 26,556 and Benin with 21,783. The figures highlight varying levels of progress among distribution companies in expanding metering coverage.
Benin’s metering rate increased to 64.41 per cent, while Ibadan recorded 59.23 per cent. Enugu also improved to 52.40 per cent, placing the three distribution companies within the commission’s amber classification for metering performance.
However, several distribution companies remained below the 50 per cent threshold. Kaduna recorded 42.32 per cent, Kano 42.84 per cent, Yola 39.15 per cent and Jos 37.60 per cent, placing them in the red category under NERC’s classification.
The commission rates distribution companies with metering coverage of 70 per cent and above as green, those between 50 and 69 per cent as amber, and those below 50 per cent as red.
NERC defines active electricity customers as those who have purchased electricity or received a bill at least once within a 12-month period.
