The Federal Government has prohibited electricity distribution companies (DisCos) and their installers from collecting any fees for meter installation, warning that anyone found extorting consumers will face prosecution.
The Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, gave the directive on Thursday during an on-the-spot inspection of newly imported smart meters at APM Terminals, Apapa, Lagos.
Adelabu explained that the meters were procured under the World Bank–supported Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP) and must be installed for electricity consumers at no cost. He stressed that any request for payment, either directly or indirectly, would be treated as a criminal offence.
The minister, who was received at the Apapa Port Command of the Nigeria Customs Service by the Area Controller, Mr Emmanuel Oshoba, expressed satisfaction with the arrival of another batch of 500,000 smart meters under the programme.
According to him, the meters will be distributed to customers across all electricity tariff bands. He emphasised that the free installation policy was designed to improve billing accuracy and revenue collection in the power sector.
Adelabu disclosed that the Federal Government plans to import about 3.4 million meters in two phases, with 1.43 million units in the first batch. He noted that nearly one million meters have already arrived in the country, while about 150,000 have been installed nationwide.
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He said the latest consignment of close to 500,000 meters marked a significant step toward closing Nigeria’s metering gap, although he expressed concern about the slow pace of deployment.
The minister expressed optimism that, within a few years, households, businesses, and public institutions would be fully metered, making electricity billing more transparent, fair, and credible. He added that proper metering would also encourage consumers to pay their bills, thereby improving liquidity in the sector.
Describing the initiative as unprecedented, Adelabu said it was the first time a government was importing and supporting local procurement of such a large number of meters to reform the power sector.
He assured Nigerians that the government would closely monitor the installation process and set up customer complaint desks to receive reports of illegal charges. Regulatory bodies, including the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and state electricity regulators, he said, would work with the ministry to investigate and sanction offenders.
Adelabu added that the government was collaborating with DisCos to clean up customer data and addresses of unmetered consumers in order to speed up meter deployment across the country.
