Data by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has shown that the number of active customers in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry dropped from 13,503,342 as of December 31, 2024, to 12,163,412 in December 2025.
This shows a decline of 1,339,930 customers, representing a 9.92 per cent reduction.
Despite the improvement in coverage, more than four out of every 10 electricity customers remain unmetered, underscoring the scale of Nigeria’s longstanding metering deficit.
The 57.27 per cent metering rate recorded in December 2025 reflects gradual progress driven by regulatory pressure and ongoing initiatives, but significant gaps persist in achieving universal metering across the country.
A month-on-month analysis of the sector’s performance shows steady growth in metering between November and December 2025. As of November 2025, the total number of metered customers stood at 6,857,028, representing a national metering rate of 56.54 per cent out of 12,128,611 active customers. Within that month alone, distribution companies installed 88,592 new meters.
By December 2025, the number of metered customers had increased to 6,966,584, pushing the national metering rate to 57.27 per cent. The total active customer base also rose slightly to 12,163,412. Notably, meter installations accelerated during the month, with 109,556 customers newly metered, 20,964 more than the figure recorded in November.
The data indicate that metering growth outpaced the increase in active customers, resulting in a 0.73 percentage-point improvement in the national metering rate within one month. The December performance suggests a stronger push by distribution companies to close the metering gap before year-end, although millions of customers remain on estimated billing.
The data further reveal that while the number of active customers rose by 34,801 within one month, metering growth outpaced customer expansion, resulting in a 0.73 percentage-point improvement in the national metering rate.
