The Nigerian government, acting through the Nigerian Energy Regulatory Commission (NERC), has instructed all electricity distribution firms to make public the refunds they have given to consumers who bought metres through the Metre Asset Providers programme.
On Monday, the NERC made the announcement on its social media accounts.
The commission convened the inaugural meeting of the Nigerian electricity supply industry stakeholders in 2025 on Monday, February 24.
Customers who benefit from end-use metres pay metering service charges, which are provided by third-party investors under the MAP framework.
According to the NERC regulation, “the distribution licensee shall reimburse the cost of the metre through energy credits in cases where a customer chooses to pay in advance for metres under these regulations.”
The commission-approved payment schedule will be followed after a review of the distribution licensee’s financial situation.
Customers who purchased metres through the MAP programme, however, have not consistently received their money back, according to complaints made by consumer groups.
In order to promote openness and encourage consumers to participate in the programme, the regulator ordered that the refund details be posted on their websites.
“NERC has instructed discos to post information on MAP refunds on their websites in order to promote openness. Customers will be encouraged and dedication to the plan will be shown,” the commission said.
The Nigerian government said it is working to eliminate the metering gap, which currently has over seven million unmetered clients.
In an effort to lower losses in the industry, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Verheijen, said that the government intends to metre all consumers.
“The government is stepping in in the short term by ensuring that the Disco’s registered customers have metres because, regardless of your tariff, you need to make sure that you can collect and minimise your collection losses. Thus, that is one of the interventions. As you may have heard, the Presidential Metering Initiative aims to combine all of the various metering projects that receive funding from various sources.
“We can therefore determine your consumption and what you can afford to pay, and we can ensure that we are generating the necessary money to improve cash flow.
“It is the initial strategy to ensure that DisCos possess the necessary financial resources or cash flows to support investments in green access and dependability,” she said.
The commission revealed that it discussed the status of the Nigerian electricity supply industry at its headquarters during its first NESI Stakeholders meeting of 2025.
The tariff methodology and the effects of the state transition, NESI liquidity, the market’s financial assessment, and the shift to a multi-tier electricity market in relation to the state electricity regulatory commissions were among the topics covered.
The commission stated that energy stakeholders gathered during the quarterly meeting to review the NESI’s current status and important concerns facing the industry.
