The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has approved N30 billion to buy and install free prepaid meters for electricity customers who are still unmetered, with Band A customers first in line and Band B customers next.
The money is the third tranche of the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF), known as Tranche C, and it is part of the Presidential Metering Initiative. The approval is in Order No. NERC/2026/121, which took effect on November 2, 2026 and was made public on Tuesday. The regulator has given distribution companies until May 31, 2027 to finish every installation.
How the N30 billion will be shared
The fund will be divided among Nigeria’s 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) in proportion to what each of them contributes to the MAF. A DisCo that contributes more gets a bigger slice.
NERC has told the companies to meter all remaining unmetered Band A customers first. After that, they are to speed up meter delivery to Band B customers. Installations must also be spread fairly across the states in each DisCo’s franchise area, so that one state does not take most of the meters while others wait.
Band A customers are those who are supposed to get at least 20 hours of supply a day, and they pay the highest tariff. Band B customers sit just below them. For years, many people in both bands have been billed on estimates instead of actual consumption, which has been a constant source of complaints.
Customers should not pay for these meters
The order is firm on this: every meter bought and fitted under the programme must be free to the customer. Each meter must carry the name of the DisCo, the MAF tranche it belongs to and the words “NOT FOR SALE”, so that anyone who is asked to pay can see the meter was funded by the scheme.
The order also deals with a cost that customers have sometimes been asked to cover. If a DisCo decides to move a customer’s connection point as part of revenue protection, the DisCo pays for it, not the customer.
Tighter rules for suppliers
NERC wants the buying process to be open. DisCos must run transparent procurement involving eligible Local Meter Manufacturers and Assemblers (LMMAs) and Meter Asset Providers (MAPs) that can show they have meters in stock.
Prices are capped. The maximum price per meter is based on the median of the national MAP online bids from the September 2026 bid cycle, which stops DisCos from paying whatever a supplier asks.
Payment is split to protect the fund. A selected supplier gets 70 per cent after its delivered stock has been verified, and the remaining 30 per cent only after NERC confirms the meters have been installed. A supplier that delivers boxes but does not finish installations will not be paid in full.
The fund manager, the DisCos and the participating meter providers must all follow NERC’s reporting, monitoring and evaluation requirements. Every supply and installation contract has to be filed with the Commission. The order also provides for sanctions if a DisCo’s default prevents or delays installation, which suggests the regulator expects some companies to fall behind.
NERC said it wants the programme to narrow the national metering gap, improve revenue assurance and service delivery, and protect consumers. It urged all parties to comply.
Where this fits in the metering push
Tranche C follows two earlier rounds. In 2024, NERC approved N21 billion under Tranche A, which ended on June 30, 2025. In October 2025 it approved N28 billion for Tranche B, effective October 6, 2025, with the same focus on unmetered Band A customers and faster metering for Band B. Together with the new tranche, the total approved under the MAF is now N79 billion.
The regulator has also dealt with the other side of the problem. In March 2026, NERC ordered DisCos to refund N20.33 billion to customers who had bought meters themselves under the Meter Asset Provider framework. Many people paid for meters out of pocket while the free-meter programme was still being rolled out.
The gap is large. NERC figures for June 2025 showed about 6.42 million metered customers out of roughly 11.82 million active customers, which is about 54 per cent. The programme was set up in response to a deficit that official statements had put at around seven million meters. Customers have also kept buying meters on their own. The regulator’s data showed 508,101 customers paid for meters in 2024 and 650,187 did so in 2025, a combined 1,158,288 meters funded by consumers.
What customers should watch for
For households and businesses in Band A and Band B, the benefit is billing based on what you actually use. Estimated billing has been a major source of disputes with DisCos, and a working meter makes it easier to question a bill and manage your own consumption.
There are still a few things to check. The deadline is only about six months away, and the DisCos have to complete procurement, delivery and installation in that time. A meter also does not guarantee good supply. Customers in Band A are paying for long hours of power, so the benefit depends on meters that work and on a DisCo that delivers the service its tariff is based on.
Customers who are asked to pay for a meter under this scheme should treat that as a red flag and report it to their DisCo and to NERC. The “NOT FOR SALE” label on the meter is there so that a customer can tell the meter was supplied under the programme.
The test of Tranche C will be simple: how many meters are actually on walls by May 31, 2027, and whether customers received them without paying for them.
