Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies (DisCos) installed a record 357,495 electricity meters in the first quarter of 2026, marking the highest quarterly deployment in the past five quarters as efforts to bridge the country’s massive metering gap accelerate.
According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) First Quarter 2026 Report, the strong performance was primarily driven by the Federal Government’s Distribution Sector Recovery Program (DISREP), which accounted for more than one-third of all installations during the period.
Key Highlights
– Total meters installed: 357,495 across all 11 DisCos.
– Benin DisCo led with 20.35 per cent of total installations, followed by Abuja DisCo at 14.08 per cent.
– Installations rose 10.38 per cent from 323,864 meters in Q4 2025, with eight DisCos recording growth. Kaduna DisCo posted the sharpest increase at 119.53 per cent.
Installation Breakdown by Scheme
– DISREP 129,224 meters (36.14%) – the largest contributor.
– Meter Asset Provider (MAP): 118,681 meters (33.19%).
– Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF): 97,992 meters (27.41%).
– DisCo-financed: 10,589 meters (2.96%).
– Vendor-financed: 1,009 meters (0.28%).
NERC noted that DISREP has emerged as the dominant metering intervention, significantly boosting deployment nationwide. The program, backed by a $500 million World Bank facility, aims to deploy 3.2 million smart meters to improve the financial and technical performance of DisCos. As of the end of Q1 2026, DISREP had installed a cumulative 217,784 meters since launching in May 2025.
Benin, Abuja, and Port Harcourt DisCos led DISREP deployments in the quarter.
Nigeria still faces a huge metering gap, with millions of customers on estimated billing. Increasing meter deployment is a top priority for NERC to enhance billing transparency, reduce commercial losses, and improve revenue collection in the power sector.
The Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme and Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) continue to play important supporting roles alongside the government-backed DISREP initiative.
This latest surge signals positive momentum in Nigeria’s ongoing electricity sector reforms.
