NERC approves N30bn for free meters for Band A and Band B customers

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has approved N30 billion for the third tranche of the Meter Acquisition Fund, to provide free meters to all remaining unmetered Band A customers and speed up metering for Band B customers.

The approval is in Order No. NERC/2026/121, which took effect on November 2, 2026. The money will be shared among the 11 electricity distribution companies in proportion to their contributions to the fund, and the companies have until May 31, 2027 to finish all installations under this tranche, according to Daily Post.

For Band A, the order covers all consumers who still have no meter. For Band B, NERC told the companies to accelerate installations, but it did not promise that every unmetered Band B customer will get a meter immediately.

The distribution companies must buy the meters through transparent procurement involving eligible local meter manufacturers and meter asset providers with verified stock, and spread them fairly across the states they serve. Maximum prices were set from the median national bids in the September 2026 bid cycle. Providers are to be paid in two stages: 70 per cent when meter stock delivery is verified and 30 per cent after full installation is confirmed.

Customers do not pay for either the meter or its installation. Daily Post notes that there is no application portal or form: the distribution companies handle procurement and installation. To stop the meters being sold, each unit must carry the company's name, the funding tranche and the words "NOT FOR SALE".

The order also says a distribution company must bear the cost if it moves a customer's connection point for revenue protection reasons. NERC warned that sanctions apply where company defaults delay installations, and set monitoring and reporting requirements for the fund manager, the companies and the meter providers.

ThisDay reports that the Meter Acquisition Fund was introduced in 2024 as part of the presidential metering initiative and is funded through a dedicated levy on electricity tariffs. It is meant to work alongside other programmes, including the Meter Asset Provider scheme, the National Mass Metering Programme and the World Bank-supported Distribution Sector Recovery Programme.

Tranches A and B, together worth about N59 billion, were rolled out between 2024 and 2025, but data as of September 2026 still show up to 47 per cent of registered customers without meters, according to the same report. The staged payment to providers is meant to prevent a repeat of past cases where meters were paid for but not deployed, and NERC warned that extortion of customers would attract sanctions. The metering gap remains a major driver of commercial losses and customer complaints in the electricity industry.