THE metering of electricity consumers across Nigeria remains a significant challenge, with the number of unmetered customers increasing to 7.3 million.
According to the latest data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), out of more than 13.16 million registered customers, only 672,539 have been metered by electricity distribution companies (DisCos).
This highlights the slow progress in metering efforts, leaving many consumers dependent on the controversial estimated billing system.
The NERC’s 2023 Annual Report, released in Abuja yesterday, revealed that by December 31, 2023, just 5,842,726 (44.39%) of the 13,162,572 registered customers in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry had been metered.
In 2023, DisCos installed 672,539 meters for end-users, with 25,847 of these under the National Mass Metering Program (NMMP), 585,265 through the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) framework, 6,912 via the Vendor Finance Metering framework, and 53 through the DisCo Financed framework.
Experts have raised concerns that the sluggish pace of metering could exacerbate billing disputes and increase customer dissatisfaction.
Meanwhile, electricity subsidies dropped to N151.30 billion in 2023, representing a 17.7% decline from the previous year.
The report noted that the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading plc (NBET) and the Market Operator (MO) issued an invoice of N858.03 billion for energy costs and administrative services to the DisCos in 2023.
Of this amount, the DisCos remitted N706.73 billion, resulting in a shortfall of N151.30 billion, giving an 82.37% remittance rate for the year.
The federal government is expected to pay about N180.8 billion in subsidies to power consumers in Bands B to E, whose tariffs have been frozen since December 2022.
In September, subsidy payments approved by NERC include N26.4 billion for Abuja consumers, N23.76 billion for Ikeja Disco, N22.21 billion for Ibadan Disco, and N19.92 billion for Eko Disco, among others.
NERC has also imposed fines totaling N8.3 billion on the country’s 11 DisCos for overcharging customers, directing them to compensate affected consumers for improper billing.
These updates were detailed in the September 2024 Supplementary Order of the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) of 2024, released by the regulatory body, led by Sanusi Garba.