Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies installed nearly 242,000 meters in the first two months of 2026, with Eko, Ikeja, and Abuja distribution companies leading the national metering drive while several northern utilities continued to lag significantly behind, according to data published by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The industry’s overall metering rate improved from 57.93 percent in January to 58.57 percent in February, reflecting incremental progress in reducing the estimated billing practices that have generated persistent tension between consumers and utilities. The total number of active electricity customers across the country rose from 12.23 million in January to 12.31 million in February, while metered customers increased from 7.09 million to 7.21 million over the same period.

Eko Distribution Company maintained the highest metering penetration nationwide, achieving a rate of 87.62 percent in February, up from 87.15 percent in January. Its metered customer count rose from 563,734 to 577,160 over the two months. Ikeja Electric followed closely with an 87.16 percent metering rate in February, with metered customers growing from 1.14 million to 1.16 million. Abuja Distribution Company ranked third, improving from 78.54 to 79.37 percent and adding more than 34,000 metered customers within the review period.

Port Harcourt Distribution Company also performed creditably, lifting its penetration from 65.47 to 66.36 percent. In contrast, Yola Distribution Company recorded the lowest rate in the country, with only 31.86 percent of its more than 511,000 active customers holding meters by February. Jos, Kaduna, and Kano distribution companies similarly remained among the weakest performers, all posting metering rates below 36 percent.

Despite having the largest customer base in the country with nearly 2.48 million active customers, Ibadan Distribution Company achieved a metering rate of just above 52 percent. Benin and Enugu distribution companies both hovered around 55 and 52 percent respectively.

With more than five million electricity customers still unmetered nationwide as of February 2026, and the industry adding only approximately 1.7 percentage points in metering penetration over the entire preceding year, the pace of deployment remains substantially below what would be required to achieve universal metering within any near-term timeframe.