ABUJA, Nigeria – The Federal Government has closed approximately 60 percent of the national electricity metering gap among active power consumers, deploying over 668,000 smart meters across customer premises under Phase 1 of the $500 million (approximately ₦770 billion) World Bank-financed Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), the Presidency announced on Thursday, August 27, 2026.
The operational milestone was presented during the second statutory meeting of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) for 2026, held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja under the chairmanship of Vice President Senator Kashim Shettima.
Okay News reports that the accelerated meter rollout forms a cornerstone of the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) coordinated by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to eliminate arbitrary estimated billing, stem revenue leakages across distribution companies (DisCos), and safeguard consumer rights nationwide.
Briefing State House correspondents after the council session, the Director-General of the BPE, Ayodeji Ariyo Gbeleyi, stated that out of the initial procurement batch of 1,033,000 meters delivered into the country under the DISREP facility, 668,000 units have already been fully installed on end-user premises.
“On various issues, we provided updates on meter deployment under Phase 1 of the World Bank-financed Distribution Sector Recovery Programme,” Gbeleyi said. “We have implemented 60 percent of the meters that have been delivered in the country out of 1,033,000. So far, we have deployed and installed 668,000 meters on customers’ premises.”
Turning to structural reforms under the Electricity Act, Gbeleyi highlighted the decentralisation of regulatory oversight from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs), noting that 17 states—including Akwa Ibom, which inaugurated its commission in July—have established autonomous electricity regulatory regimes since April 2024.
To address jurisdictional overlap and regulatory friction, Gbeleyi revealed that the NCP has directed an inter-agency harmonisation team—comprising the Attorney General of the Federation, the Minister of Power, the Special Adviser on Power, the Special Adviser to the President on Oil and Gas, NERC, and the BPE—to fine-tune statutory provisions and streamline proposed legislative amendments to the Electricity Act.
Corroborating the reform drive, the Minister of Power, Mr Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, affirmed that the administration is maintaining cross-sector collaboration between power, finance, and industrial authorities to ensure consumers receive reliable, transparent, and cost-reflective energy value.
The high-level NCP meeting was attended by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, who serves as Vice Chair of the Council; the Solicitor-General of the Federation representing the Attorney General; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; and appointed private sector members.
