Adelabu says World Bank–funded DISREP meters must be installed free nationwide as government moves to end estimated billing

The Federal Government of Nigeria has banned electricity distribution companies (DisCos) and their installers from collecting any form of payment for electricity meter installation, warning that offenders will be prosecuted.

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, issued the warning on Thursday during an inspection of newly imported smart meters at APM Terminals, Apapa Port, Lagos.

Adelabu said the meters were procured under the World Bank–funded Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP) and must be installed for electricity consumers free of charge, describing any demand for payment as illegal.

He disclosed that the Federal Government plans to deploy 3.4 million meters nationwide in two phases, noting that the first batch consists of 1.43 million meters, nearly one million of which have already arrived in the country. According to him, about 150,000 meters have been installed across the 11 electricity distribution companies.

Another 500,000 smart meters, recently received at the Apapa Port, are expected to be distributed to customers across all electricity bands.

“These meters are to be installed free of charge. No DisCo official or installer is permitted to collect money from any consumer. Any such act will be treated as an offence,” Adelabu said.

The minister expressed concern over the pace of metering but said the initiative marked a major step toward closing Nigeria’s long-standing metering gap and eliminating estimated billing.

He said the government would track meter deployment and establish customer complaint channels to enable consumers report cases of extortion, adding that regulatory agencies would work with state authorities to enforce compliance.

Adelabu stressed that the free meter distribution would cover all categories of electricity users, insisting that the programme was not restricted to any supply band.

“The meters will be given to all customers. We are not discriminating. The objective is transparent billing, improved collections and better liquidity in the power sector,” he said.

Also speaking, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Ayo Gbeleyi, said the bureau was coordinating the implementation of DISREP and that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) would soon issue a directive to ensure DisCos allow unhindered access for meter installation.

Gbeleyi added that the meters were configured specifically for each DisCo and embedded with anti-theft features, preventing their use outside designated coverage areas.

The Chairman of Mojec, Mojisola Abdul, said about 150,000 meters had already been installed under the programme, urging consumers not to pay for installation.

She said a mobile registration process was being introduced to speed up installations nationwide.

Adelabu later visited the National Meter Test Station in Oshodi, where meters are certified by the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) before deployment.

Nigeria currently has over five million electricity customers on estimated billing, a situation the Federal Government says the DISREP metering programme is designed to address.

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