Unmetered Electricity Customers Rise To 7.3 million, Says NERC

Metering of electricity customers across the country has remained a challenge as number of unmetered customers rises to 7.3 million.

The latest figures, released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) showed that out of over 13.16 million registered customers, the electricity distribution companies also known as the DisCos, have been able to meter only 672,539 customers.

This shows the slow-paced metering efforts by the DisCos, leaving a larger amount of customers heavily relying on the controversial estimated billing system.

The NERC’s 2023 Annual report was released in Abuja on Monday.

As of 31st December 2023, only 5,842,726 (44.39%) of the registered 13,162,572 customers in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry were metered. DisCos installed 672,539 end-use customer meters in 2023. A total of 25,847 meters were installed under the National Mass Metering Program (NMMP) framework while 585,265 meters were installed under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) framework. Furthermore, 6,912 meters were installed through the Vendor Finance Metering framework, while 53 end-use customer meters were installed through the DisCo Financed framework.

This is as industry experts have raised concerns that the slow pace of metering could worsen billing disputes and customer dissatisfaction.

Meanwhile, electricity subsidy dropped to ₦151.30 billion during the year, indicating a 17.7 per cent decline from 2022.

The report read: “A Minimum Remittance Obligation (MRO) adjusted invoice of ₦858.03 billion was issued by Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading plc (NBET) and Market Operator (MO) for energy costs and administrative services to DisCos in 2023.

“The DisCos remitted a total of ₦706.73 billion, resulting in a deficit of ₦151.30 billion during the year. Based on the above, the gross DisCo remittance rate to the upstream segment for 2023 was 82.37 per cent.”

According to the report, the federal government is set to pay approximately ₦180.8 billion in electricity subsidies to power consumers in Bands ‘B’ to ‘E’, whose tariffs have remained frozen since December 2022, according to reports from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Regarding the subsidy payments, NERC has approved ₦26.4 billion for Abuja consumers, ₦23.76 billion for Ikeja Disco, ₦22.21 billion for Ibadan Disco, ₦19.92 billion for Eko Disco, and ₦14.87 billion for Benin Disco this month.

In the September subsidy cycle, Enugu Distribution Company (Disco) is set to receive N14.61 billion, while Port Harcourt Disco will be allocated N13.45 billion. Kaduna Disco will benefit from N13.14 billion, Kano Disco will receive N12.96 billion, and Jos Disco will be entitled to a subsidy of N11.68 billion. Yola Disco is slated to get N8.06 billion in this round of disbursements.

“In line with the policy direction of the federal government on electricity subsidy, the allowed tariffs for Bands B-E customer categories shall remain frozen at the rates payable since December 2022 subject to further policy direction by the government,” NERC said.

In addition, NERC has imposed fines totalling ₦8.3 billion on the country’s 11 DisCos for overcharging customers. NERC has also directed the Discos to compensate affected consumers for the improper billing.

These developments were outlined in the September 2024 Supplementary Order of the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) of 2024, which was issued yesterday in Abuja by the power sector regulator, led by Sanusi Garba.