FG Secures ₦700 Billion to Deploy 1.1 Million Electricity Meters by December 2025
The Federal Government has announced it has secured about ₦700 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to deploy 1.1 million electricity meters across Nigeria by December 2025. Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, disclosed this in Lagos during the 2025 Nigerian Energy Forum (NEF), themed “Powering Nigeria through Investment, Innovation, and Partnership.” The initiative forms a core part of the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) designed to bridge Nigeria’s metering gap, ensure revenue transparency, and curb estimated billing.
According to Adelabu, the metering project will complement the 3.2 million meters already being procured through the World Bank-backed Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP). Together, both initiatives are expected to significantly close the national metering gap within the next five years. He added that the government is also leveraging bilateral funding and partnerships with development finance institutions to attract private investment and expand electricity access to schools, hospitals, and underserved communities.
The Power Minister revealed that over $2 billion has been mobilized in the past two years through programs such as the World Bank’s DARES, NSIA’s RIPLE, and Japan’s JICA fund to accelerate renewable energy deployment. He noted that recent agreements signed at the 2025 Nigerian Renewable Energy Innovation Forum would add nearly four gigawatts of solar manufacturing capacity annually — equivalent to 80% of the nation’s current power generation. “With this level of renewable energy production, Nigeria is on track to meet its domestic energy transition targets and even serve regional power markets,” Adelabu said.
Adelabu highlighted that the Electricity Act 2023 has redefined the power landscape by granting 15 states regulatory autonomy, enabling them to operate subnational electricity markets. He said tariff reforms have improved supply reliability and increased sector revenue from ₦1 trillion in 2023 to ₦1.7 trillion in 2024, with projections to exceed ₦2 trillion in 2025. The minister added that President Bola Tinubu has approved a ₦4 trillion bond to settle verified debts owed to generation companies and gas suppliers, alongside a targeted subsidy for vulnerable households.
Despite recent gains, data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) shows that only 54.33% of Nigeria’s 11.8 million registered electricity customers had been metered as of June 2025. NERC’s latest report revealed that DisCos installed 225,631 meters in the second quarter of 2025, a 20.55% increase from the first quarter. However, nearly half of Nigerian electricity consumers still depend on estimated billing. Adelabu reaffirmed the government’s commitment to working with private investors to close the metering gap and “power Nigeria’s journey toward a brighter, more resilient energy future.”
source: Nairametrics