The Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) has announced plans to begin a large-scale installation of prepaid meters across its franchise areas under the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), a $500 million initiative supported by the World Bank.
In a statement issued on Wednesday by KEDCO’s Head of Corporate Communications, Sani Bala Sani, the company disclosed that no fewer than 128,000 prepaid meters would be distributed free of charge to electricity consumers in Kano, Katsina, and Jigawa States.
The initiative, according to KEDCO, is aimed at improving power supply management, enhancing transparency, and eliminating the controversial practice of estimated billing.
Although the statement did not specify when the installation exercise would commence, it confirmed that preparations are in advanced stages.
KEDCO’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Abubakar S. Jimeta, was quoted as saying that the metering programme would prioritise existing unmetered customers across the three states.
The DISREP project is aimed at enhancing the financial and technical performance of Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies (DisCos), reducing commercial losses, and promoting transparency and accountability within the power sector.
The DISREP initiative, launched by the Federal Government in partnership with the World Bank, seeks to restore the financial viability of the power sector by improving the metering gap, modernizing grid infrastructure, and introducing performance-based incentives for DisCos.
In a related development, the Federal Government, on Tuesday, announced it had secured about N700 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to finance the deployment of 1.1 million electricity meters across Nigeria by December 2025.
The initiative is part of the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI), a comprehensive plan to close Nigeria’s metering gap, strengthen revenue assurance, and promote transparency in the electricity supply chain.
Earlier this month, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) approved the disbursement of N28 billion to electricity distribution companies (DisCos) for the procurement and installation of prepaid meters under the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) Tranche B scheme.
According to Order No: NERC/2025/107 published on the commission’s website, the MAF provides a financial mechanism for accelerating meter rollout to unmetered customers at no cost, while ensuring a credible revenue stream that supports long-term financing for DisCos.
NERC also reported that DisCos installed a total of 225,631 meters in the second quarter of 2025, marking a 20.55% increase compared to the 187,161 meters installed in the first quarter of the year.
According to NERC’s Second Quarter 2025 Report, of the total meters installed, 147,823 units (65.52%) were deployed under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) framework, 65,315 meters under the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) scheme, 12,259 meters through the Vendor Financed framework, and 234 meters were installed under the DisCo Financed scheme.