The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has warned that more than 5 million electricity customers in Nigeria still do not have meters, underscoring a persistent metering gap in the nation’s power sector and ongoing challenges in billing transparency and revenue collection, according to recent industry data.

In its second quarter 2025 report, NERC said that out of about 11.8 million active registered electricity customers on the national electricity supply industry (NESI) register as of June 30, 2025, only approximately 6.42 million customers were metered, leaving over 5 million unmetered accounts still reliant on estimated billing.

The regulator emphasised that the issue continues to be a major constraint on efficient operations and financial performance of electricity distribution companies (DisCos). Customers without meters are often billed based on estimates rather than actual consumption, a situation that has drawn criticism from electricity consumers and sector stakeholders who call for broader deployment of prepaid metering solutions.

To bridge the gap NERC has encouraged DisCos to accelerate mass metering programmes while also supporting policies that allow customers to procure meters through Meter Asset Providers (MAPs) and other frameworks designed to improve access and affordability.

Sector analysts say that tackling the metering shortfall could improve billing transparency strengthen utility revenue and boost investor confidence in the electricity market. It could also reduce disputes between customers and DisCos over estimated bills and help sharpen accountability within the industry.