Federal Government Bans Meter Installation Charges, Warns of Prosecution

The Federal Government has barred electricity distribution companies (DisCos) and their contractors from collecting any fees for meter installation, warning that anyone caught extorting consumers will face prosecution.

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, gave the directive during an inspection of newly imported smart meters at APM Terminals in Apapa, Lagos. He said the meters, procured under the World Bank–supported Distribution Sector Recovery Programme, must be installed for consumers completely free of charge.

Adelabu described the collection of money for meters or installation as a criminal offence.

He announced the arrival of about 500,000 new smart meters, adding to nearly one million already delivered under the programme, with about 150,000 installed nationwide so far.

“These meters are to be distributed and installed free of charge. No DisCo official or installer is allowed to collect a dime from consumers,” he said.

The minister disclosed plans to import and deploy about 3.4 million meters in phases to close Nigeria’s metering gap, noting that proper metering would improve billing transparency, consumer confidence, and sector liquidity.

He said the rollout would be closely monitored with support from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission and state regulators, adding that a customer complaint system would be introduced to report extortion.

Any confirmed case of illegal charges, Adelabu warned, would lead to prosecution and be made public.

He added that the meters would be distributed to all categories of electricity consumers. Nigeria currently has over five million customers on estimated billing.

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