FG bans DisCos from charging consumers for meter installation

The Federal government has imposed a nationwide ban on electricity distribution companies (DisCos) and meter installers from collecting any payment from consumers for the installation of electricity meters, warning that offenders will face prosecution.

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, gave the directive during an inspection of a new consignment of imported smart meters at APM Terminals in Apapa, Lagos on Thursday, January 22.

The meters were procured under the World Bank-funded Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), aimed at closing Nigeria’s metering gap and improving transparency in electricity billing.

Adelabu stressed that all meters supplied under the programme must be installed free of charge, regardless of customer category.

“It is an offence for any DisCo official or installer to request a dime from consumers before installation. These meters must be distributed and installed completely free of charge,” he said.

He disclosed that about 500,000 new smart meters had arrived, adding to previous deliveries under the initiative.

The programme targets the procurement of 3.4 million meters in two phases. Of the first batch of 1.43 million meters, nearly one million have been delivered to Nigeria, with about 150,000 already installed nationwide.