Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) reduced the entire national metering gap by 51,631 in November 2023.
However, a document from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) outlining changes in the sector shows that, despite a modest decline in unmetered consumers, the total number of residences without meters is currently 7.31 million.
According to NERC, there were 13.1 million registered consumers in the country as of November 2023, with 5.79 million metered users, resulting in a metering rate of 44.23 percent.
Overall, Ikeja Disco had the highest metering rate (72.43%), followed by Abuja Disco (60.43%) and Eko Disco (58.45%).
Benin Disco consumers were 49.9% metered, Enugu was 43.79%, Ibadan was 43.30%, and Port Harcourt Disco was 41.51%. Yola was the least metered, with 15.42% metering coverage.
According to the NERC study, metering difficulties were the most common customer complaints in November, accounting for 62.23 percent of all complaints.
NERC noted that other categories of complaints included billing: 9.33 percent; interruption: 8.27 percent; disconnection: 0.97 percent; voltage: 1.63 percent; load shedding: 0.28%; connection delay: 0.17%; and others: 17.13 percent.
In total, 108.542 complaints were received in November, with 103,898 resolved, for a resolution rate of 95.72%.
In 2023, Energy Markets and Rates Consultants (EMRC), an independent consultancy that provides energy market, regulatory, techno-economic, and financial assistance to clients in the electricity, renewables, and gas sectors, proposed options to close the metering gap.
According to EMRC, the metering gap can be closed by investing in infrastructure and strengthening regulatory frameworks through consistent and unambiguous rules.
It also proposed educating customers and promoting continual innovation by introducing new metering programs based on the accomplishments and lessons learned from previous attempts.
