Nigeria’s electricity crisis and scandal of hoarded meters By Guardian Editorial Board on February 25, 2026: Recommended Nigerian Newspaper Report 29
Persistent failure by Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies to provide prepaid meters for their customers, under a World Bank all-expenses-paid facility, reflects not merely administrative inefficiency but institutional reluctance.
While the DisCos may be accused of sabotaging the government’s policy wilfully or otherwise, the federal government, through its supervisory and regulatory agencies, needs to assert its authority to protect hapless citizens stranded in the metering impasse.
It is totally unacceptable that hundreds of thousands of meters meant for free distribution and installation are lying idle in warehouses while Nigerians suffer indiscriminate billings, paying for services they do not enjoy.
Nigeria’s electricity crises appear to have defied all solutions. From the repeated collapse of the national grid to electricity theft, regulatory ineptitude, erratic supply, inflated bills, arbitrary tariff hikes and chronic metering failure, much of the country remains trapped in darkness, both literal and institutional.
It was against this grim backdrop that the Federal Government launched the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), which became operational on January 31, 2023. Backed by a $500 million World Bank loan, DISREP was conceived as a comprehensive intervention to restore the financial health, operational efficiency and service delivery capacity of Nigeria’s electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos).
The programme targets persistent sectoral weaknesses, including poor billing practices, unmetered customers, high commercial losses and dilapidated distribution infrastructure.
The World Bank approved the facility in February 2021. Following Federal Executive Council approval and the completion of legislative and legal processes, DISREP was declared effective in early 2023.
A central pillar of the programme is mass metering. With an estimated seven million meters deficit, Nigeria’s electricity market has long been distorted by estimated billing, consumer distrust and opaque revenue practices. Under DISREP, about 3.4 million smart meters are to be deployed over several years to close this gap, protect consumers and reduce commercial losses.
Yet, implementation has faltered badly. The Federal Government now accuses DisCos of deliberately frustrating the free meter installation scheme. If the current pace persists, as many as 2.5 million meters may be left idle in warehouses this year, even as consumers continue to suffer estimated billing.
Reports indicate that installers are reluctant to meet daily targets because the approved installation fee—about ₦3,000 per meter—is considered grossly inadequate. This has reportedly fuelled attempts by some installers to extract illegal fees from consumers, in direct violation of programme guidelines.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has repeatedly clarified that the World Bank facility covers not only the cost of the meters, but also accessories, materials and installation. Consumers, he emphasised, are required to pay nothing. Each meter is also pre-configured for the specific DisCo franchise area, making diversion across zones technically impossible.
Despite these safeguards, progress has been abysmal. According to the Minister, only about 150,000 meters have been installed in eight months, out of an initial one million already procured, leaving some 850,000 meters warehoused across about 11 DisCos. With additional batches expected, the stockpile of unused meters could rise sharply unless installation accelerates.
The persistent delay—indeed, in many cases, outright failure—by DisCos to distribute meters freely, despite full funding by the World Bank, is indefensible. Explanations ranging from poor installer remuneration to inaccurate customer data may describe operational challenges, but they do not excuse the scale of inertia on display. Nor do they justify continued consumer exposure to arbitrary billing.
More troubling are allegations of extortion. That some DisCos or their agents continue to demand money from consumers for meters that are fully funded represents a serious breach of public trust. Once the financial burden of metering has been lifted through international development support, no moral or economic justification remains for perpetuating estimated billing.
What is unfolding is administrative inefficiency, coupled with institutional reluctance. Delaying meter deployment under these circumstances sustains an unjust system that penalises consumers for power they may not have consumed, while shielding inefficiencies within the distribution segment from scrutiny.
The implications extend beyond domestic consumers. When donor funds provided in good faith to reform a failing sector are rendered ineffective through non-performance, Nigeria’s credibility with international development partners suffers. Development financing is not charity; it is built on trust, accountability and results.
Regulators, therefore, cannot remain passive. Where public and concessional funds have been disbursed for a clearly defined, fully costed purpose, failure to deliver should attract sanctions, transparency measures and corrective directives. Anything less risks regulatory complicity.
This places a heavy responsibility on the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). Its recent directives—particularly the Order on the Operationalisation of Tranche B of the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF)—were designed to finally close the metering gap. Under this framework, ₦28 billion was approved for DisCos to procure and install meters at no cost to consumers, with clear timelines and penalties for default.
Yet, months after the order took effect on October 6, 2025, results remain uneven. Despite the availability of hundreds of thousands of meters nationwide and a clear regulatory mandate for free deployment, many DisCos continue to stall installations, undermining a policy meant to restore transparency and consumer confidence.
The position NERC should be unequivocal: where funding has been provided, consumers must not be charged and deployment must proceed without delay. Metering is not a favour granted by DisCos; it is a regulatory obligation and a consumer right. Persistent resistance to implementation suggests discomfort with transparency and accountability.
If regulation is to retain credibility, enforcement must now follow intent. Hoarded meters should attract penalties. Chronic defiance should trigger tariff reviews and, where necessary, questions about licence fitness. Regulation without consequences is mere advisory.
There is also a structural flaw that must be addressed. Leaving the deployment of publicly funded meters entirely in the hands of DisCos—entities that benefit financially from delay—creates an obvious conflict of interest. World Bank–funded meters should be ring-fenced and deployed through independent Meter Asset Providers where necessary.
The World Bank, too, has a role to play. Performance conditions must be enforced. Where targets are ignored and assets deliberately withheld, disbursements should be reviewed and remedial provisions activated. Silence only entrenches impunity.
Beyond regulation lies accountability. Public or donor-funded assets deliberately hoarded for commercial advantage raise serious red flags. Where evidence points to diversion or abuse, anti-corruption agencies should intervene.
Consumers, meanwhile, are not without any legal remedies. Although the country’s system of justice administration is slow and cumbersome, the courts remain open for representative actions to compel meter deployment and restrain unlawful estimated billing. The right to fair administrative action does not stop at the electricity meter.
Ultimately, transparency may prove decisive. A public, Disco-by-Disco disclosure of meters received and meters installed would quickly separate fact from excuse.
Nigeria’s intractable electricity problems cannot be solved if meters are locked away in warehouses. Metering is not a privilege to be dispensed at the convenience of DisCos. It is a legal and moral obligation. Until hoarding attracts real consequences—financial, legal and reputational—the darkness of estimated billing will continue to overshadow the promise of reform.
Research Credits
*This compilation series was first researched, written, poster designed and last updated by Toju Micheal Ogbe.
*The report series is open for/to suggestion, donation, sponsorship, collaboration, partnership or advertisement (+2349064503292).
Nigeria’s electricity crisis and scandal of hoarded meters By Guardian Editorial Board is a report series by PositiveNaija aims to amplify and preserve the truth as done on the editorials of various Nigerian newspapers.
