According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission), more than 41% of electricity consumers in Nigeria are still without prepaid meters.

Data from the commission shows that about 5.1 million out of 12.31 million active electricity customers had not yet been metered as of February 2026, meaning they continue to be charged through estimated billing.

The figures were contained in the NERC January and February 2026 metering report, which revealed that only 7.21 million customers had been metered nationwide by February, leaving millions still uncovered by prepaid systems.

The report also indicated a slight improvement in the national metering rate, which rose from 57.93% in January to 58.57% in February. This increase followed the installation of 121,798 new meters within the month.

Breakdown by distribution companies showed that Abuja Electricity Distribution Company recorded the highest metering rate at 79.37%.

Similarly, Eko Electricity Distribution Company and Ikeja Electric posted strong performances with 87.62% and 87.16% respectively, while Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company recorded 66.36%.

Other distribution companies such as Benin, Ibadan, and Enugu posted lower rates of 56.75%, 52.23%, and 51.83% respectively.

At the lower end of the ranking, Yola, Jos, Kaduna, and Kano distribution companies were identified as the least metered, with Yola recording the lowest coverage at 31.86%, followed by Jos at 34.04%, Kano at 35.37%, and Kaduna at 35.59%.

The report also noted that Abuja DisCo installed 18,352 new meters in February, while Benin and Ibadan DisCos added 25,658 and 16,445 meters respectively.

NERC clarified that “active customers” refers to electricity users who either made payments or received bills at least once within a 12-month period.