The revelation that millions of consumers in the country may be kept under the arbitrary and exploitative estimated billing for another decade or more is very distressing, considering the exploitation and the consequent trauma that electricity consumers are going through. It is worrisome that this predicament is a direct result of sluggishness in end-users’ metering by the electricity distribution companies (Discos).
 
Despite funding from the federal government, deregulation of the metering scheme, and intervention by the World Bank, progress in consumer metering has been consistently slow, leading to the end-users being made to pay higher than what they consume even in the face of unstable service being rendered by the Discos which are greatly benefiting from the unfortunate situation. It is daylight robbery. The electricity sector is replete with other practices that can reasonably be considered unjust. All should be stopped.
   
A recent media report revealed that all the Discos in the country were only able to meter 542,738 electricity consumers in 2024, leaving the number of those placed on the loathed and exploitative estimated billing at a staggering 7.2 million. It was reported that in 2023, about 609,585 were metered, while the number dropped to 542,738 last year, and in 2021 and 2022, up to 672,539 and 850,000 meters were installed in that order, putting the average yearly installation at 668,715 units. What this means is that if metering of electricity consumers continues to grow at this sluggish rate, it would take 10 years and 10 months (approximately 11 years) to plug the 7.2 million gap. This analysis and prediction exclude new consumers that would need to be registered going forward, as the 7.2 million figure is bound to increase.
 
In the report, which emanated from the quarterly report of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) between January and December 2024, it was established that all the Discos fell below par in the metering race. The data indicated that as of December 31, 2024, only 6,288,624 customers, representing 46.57 per cent of the total 13,503,342 registered electricity users, had been metered. The regrettable import is that 7.2 million consumers remain vulnerable to what has long been criticised as arbitrary and exploitative in the public electricity supply system in the country.
 
Estimated billing has been widely criticised and rejected because most of the time, the bill is higher than the actual consumption.  In other climes, an estimated bill is not final; it is later adjusted to reflect the right amount to be paid when the actual reading is received. But in Nigeria, it is a different and negative narrative as adjustments are not done, and consumers are made to pay what was estimated, even as Discos can’t satisfactorily explain how they arrive at the high figures. Sometimes, the DisCos base the system on a central reading of a meter attached to the community, which reading is then arbitrarily distributed to individual consumers.
  
In February 2024, a media report revealed that electricity distribution companies overbilled about 7.1 million unmetered customers between January and September 2023. In the various regulatory interventions for non-compliance with the order on capping of estimated billing to unmetered customers, issued to the 11 Discos by NERC, it was established that the power distributors raked in over N105 billion as a result of overbilling.
 
Nigerians cannot continue to suffer and be exploited on account of Discos’ failure to provide meters. And with what has been spent on metering, the current situation is not where the country ought to be by now. It is sad that consumers do not seem to be protected. Providing meters should not be as difficult as it is being made to look in Nigeria. In November last year, the federal government got $500 million credit from the World Bank to boost the financial and technical capacity of the Discos. The bulk of the fund was meant to be spent on metering. The World Bank launched a similar scheme in 2023 to provide 12 million meters at $155 million. Another N21 billion was arranged under the Meter Asset Financing (MAF), which is being contributed by end-user tariffs through NERC. Besides, the federal government, under the current administration, has allocated a total of N700 billion to the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI), which is funded partly from the Federal Account Allocation and N59.3 billion under the National Mass Metering Programme. NERC and other relevant agencies and departments should be explaining to Nigerians how and why the metering deficit is still so high despite these interventions.
 
Going forward, the government needs to review the privatisation of the power sector, particularly with a view to ensuring that Nigerians do not suffer and get further exploited by being made to pay for what they do not consume. The NERC should be alive to its responsibility of protecting consumers against exploitation and poor service by the Discos. There should be consideration for local content by way of local production of electricity meters. The promise by the National Assembly to intervene and make a difference to ensure that the cost of electricity is not too high in the country for social and business purposes should be fulfilled.
 
Electricity is the most important factor in modern-day development, and it is shameful that after 60 years of independence, Nigeria has yet to have it. Some investors have relocated from Nigeria, partly due to poor electricity supply. Others may be wary of coming to the country on account of the same situation, and the authorities don’t seem sufficiently bothered to tackle this regressive reality in society. The government at different levels should strongly handle the issue of electricity supply with the seriousness it deserves. The government has signed a law authorising state governments to generate and distribute electricity. States should take advantage of this window to boost electricity supply in their domains, which has the potential to attract investors, provide employment opportunities and strengthen the economies. It will also be a good competition for the Discos.
 
The government is further urged to revisit the categorisation of electricity consumers into different bands. Besides the fact that it is not working because the daily length of power supply promised for each band is not being effectively delivered, it has become a source of woes for many people. One rate should not be higher than the other on account of the band where you find yourself. It should be based clearly and strictly on what a customer consumed.