Abuja, Oct. 16, 2025 – The Federal Government has approved N28 billion for Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) to install prepaid meters under the second phase of Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) Scheme.
The meters are to be provided for all outstanding Band A and B customers free of charge.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), gave the directive via an order titled “Operationalisation of Tranche B of the Meter Acquisition Fund” published on its website.
The order was signed by NERC Vice Chairman, Dr. Musiliu Oseni, and the Commissioner for Legal, Licensing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye.
The NERC directed the DisCos to utilise the N28 billion fund to provide meters for Band A and Band B customers within their networks, adding that the allocation would be distributed according to each company’s market collection share as of July 2025.
The directive, which forms part of the Presidential Metering Initiative, took effect from October 6, 2025 and intended to close Nigeria’s estimated seven-million-meter deficit.
The commission directed that the N28 billion is intended to meter all outstanding unmetered Band A customers while also expediting the closure of the metering gap for customers currently classified under Tariff Band B.
“DisCos shall utilise N28bn of the MAF scheme for Tranche B, apportioned in accordance with their respective contributions for the procurement and installation of meters for unmetered Band ‘A’ and ‘B’ customers within their franchise areas.”
It said the initiative was designed to accelerate meter deployment, enhance service quality, and reduce energy theft and collection losses.
According to the order, all the meters to be procured and installed under the MAF framework and should be provided at no cost to customers.
It said the Tranche B would build on the first N21 billion tranche which ended on June 30, 2025 under which the commission approved meter purchases from funds accrued through the national electricity market.
The commission said as of the April 2024 market settlement cycle, the sum of N21.86bn had accrued and was made available for the procurement of meters under the first tranche of the MAF scheme.
Under the new framework, the Discos are mandated to begin the procurement process within 10 days of the effective date of the order and submit their selected meter providers to NERC within 15 days for approval.
“DisCos shall, within 10 days from the effective date of this order, conduct a transparent procurement process for the selection and execution of a contract with MAPs with verified and ready-for-deployment meter stock for the metering of end-use customer meters under the MAF scheme.
“DisCos shall, no later than 15 days from the date of the order, submit to the commission a list of their selected MAPs and details of meter inventory, including meter types, brand names, serial numbers, and meter location, to obtain a ‘No-Objection’ approval from the commission.
“Where the selected MAP fails to deliver the contracted meter quantities within the seven-day timeframe, supply of the outstanding meter quantities shall be opened up to another MAP on a first-come, first-served basis,” it said NERC warned.
It further directed that once meters are delivered and verified, the Fund Manager will release 60 per cent of the contract sum, while the remaining 40 per cent will be paid only after full installation is verified.
The NERC warned that distribution companies would be penalised if installation delays arise from their own failures, such as not providing network clearance or accurate customer information.
“Where the non-installation of meters is directly attributable to DisCo’s failure, such DisCo shall be liable to a penalty equivalent to the total cost of the uninstalled meters. A penalty shall be deducted from the DisCo’s approved Administrative Operating Expenditure,” the order stated.
“The installation of meters shall be completed by 31 December 2025,” it said.
The commission said with the release of the new N28 billion, it expected that all premium customers on Band A would be fully metered, bringing Nigeria closer to eliminating estimated billing and ensuring more accurate energy accountability across the power sector by the end of 2025.
NERC said that the number of metered customers nationwide rose to 6,422,933 as of June 2025, the total active electricity customers rose marginally from 11,784,842 in May to 11,821,194 in June.
It also said
