The Federal Government has banned electricity distribution companies and their agents from charging consumers for meter installation, warning that any official or installer found demanding payment will face prosecution.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, issued the directive on Thursday during an inspection of newly imported smart meters at APM Terminals, Apapa, Lagos.
He said the meters, procured under the World Bank–funded Distribution Sector Recovery Programme, must be distributed and installed at no cost to electricity consumers.
Adelabu described the collection of money for meter installation as illegal, stressing that neither DisCo officials nor third-party installers were permitted to request payment from customers under any guise.
According to the minister, the Federal Government has imported about 500,000 smart meters in the latest batch, adding to nearly one million meters already received out of the 1.43 million units earmarked for the first phase of the programme.
He said close to 150,000 meters had already been installed nationwide.
He explained that the DISREP initiative would deliver about 3.4 million meters in two phases, noting that the goal was to close Nigeria’s metering gap and improve transparency, billing accuracy, and revenue collection in the power sector.
Adelabu expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of metering but said the government was determined to ensure that every household, business, and institution was fully metered within the next few years.
He warned that any form of extortion during meter installation would attract sanctions, adding that the government would actively monitor the process.
He said regulatory agencies, including the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and state electricity regulators, would receive and act on complaints from consumers.
The minister also disclosed plans to establish customer complaint desks and a register for unmetered customers to accelerate deployment, noting that clean and reliable customer data was essential to the success of the programme.
He emphasised that the meters would be distributed to all categories of electricity consumers, regardless of service band, describing the current banding system as temporary.
On concerns about enforcement, the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, Ayo Gbeleyi, said the bureau was coordinating the implementation of the programme and monitoring compliance by all 11 electricity distribution companies.
Gbeleyi said the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission would soon issue fresh guidelines to ensure unhindered access for meter installations, adding that the meters were configured specifically for each DisCo and fitted with anti-theft technology.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Mojec, Mojisola Abdul, urged consumers not to pay any money for meters, insisting that installations under the programme were genuinely free.
She disclosed that about 150,000 meters had already been installed and announced plans for mobile registration to fast-track deployment.
Adelabu acknowledged public scepticism arising from past experiences but assured Nigerians that the current programme differed from previous initiatives, citing sufficient meter availability and the elimination of payment requirements.
He added that the Tinubu administration was addressing a long-standing liquidity challenge in the power sector and vowed that offenders involved in extortion would be prosecuted and publicly named as a deterrent.
Nigeria currently has over five million electricity customers under estimated billing.
