By Clement Nwoji, Abuja
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has to date approved a total of N49 billion from Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) for Distribution Companies (DisCos) to facilitate metering of all customers under Bands A and B categories at no cost to them.
NERC disclosed this in its Order ”
on the Operationalisation of “Tranche B” of the Meter Acquisition Fund” dated 30th day of September 2025 and jointly signed by the NERC Vice Chairman, Musiliu O. Oseni and the Commissioner Legal, Licensing & Compliance, Dafe C. Akpeneye, made available to the media on Wednesday.
Giving breakdown of the releases of funds accrued under MAF, NERC explained that in April 2024, out of the accrued sum of N21,864,851,725, it released the sum of N21 billion to the DisCos for the procurement of meters under the first tranche of the MAF scheme.
The latest release was the sum of N28 billion under tranch B of MAF scheme.
According to the NERC Order,
“While the NESI is expected to mobilise significant capital investment for metering through the revenue streams created under the MAF framework,
there is an urgent and compelling need to accelerate the closure of the metering gap for all customers currently classified under Tariff Band A to safeguard revenue protection and enable effective demand-side management.
“As of the April 2024 market settlement cycle, the sum of NGN
21,864,851,725 (Twenty-One Billion, Eight Hundred and Sixty-Four Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty-One Thousand, Seven Hundred and Twenty-Five Naira only) had accrued and was made available for the procurement of meters under the first tranche of the MAF scheme.
“The Commission approved the use of the sum of NGN21,000,000,000
(Twenty-One Billion Naira) only from the accrued amount apportioned pro rata to the contributions of the DisCos, for the procurement and installation of meters under Tranche A of the MAF scheme, which concluded on 30 June 2025.
” The Commission has further approved the deployment of the sum of NGN28,000,000,000 (Twenty-Eight Billion Naira) for Tranche B of the MAF Scheme. These funds shall be allocated in proportion to the respective contributions of the DisCos, and are intended to meter all outstanding unmetered Band A customers while also expediting the closure of the metering gap for customers currently classified under Tariff Band B.
“DisCos shall utilise NGN28,000,000,000 (Twenty-Eight Billion Naira only) of the MAF scheme for Tranche B apportioned in accordance with their respective contributions as at the July 2025 market settlement and detailed in Schedule 1, for the procurement and installation of meters for unmetered Band ‘A’ and ‘B’ customers within their franchise areas.
“All the meters to be procured and installed under the MAF framework shall be provided at no cost to the customers.”
To ensure input of local content into the Meter acquisition processes by the DisCos, NERC mandated that Meter Asset Providers shall, among other things, provide evidence of a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) with a local meter manufacturer or assembler (“LMMA”) for the fulfilment of a minimum 30% local content threshold.
“Upon securing orders for meters from DisCos, eligible MAPs shall submit evidence in support of the
fulfilment of the minimum threshold of 30% local content, Hold a valid MAP Permit issued by the Commission and Submit details of proposed meter installers with valid NERC certification as a Meter Service Provider (“MSP”) for the installation of meters”, the Commission further directed.
To avert the prevailing controversies over relocation of meters in residential places, NERC ordered that “Where a DisCo elects to move an existing customer’s connection point to a
pole or high wall to ensure revenue protection, such DisCo shall bear the cost for the relocation.”
The Commission indicated that its Order shall become effective on 6 October 2025 and may be amended or revoked by subsequent Orders issued by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory
Commission (“NERC” or the “Commission”).
It would be recalled that a key constraint identified is the inability of Distribution Companies (“DisCos”) to secure financing, whether through debt or additional equity, for the
acquisition and deployment of end-use meters and other critical capital investments.
To mitigate this challenge, the Commission developed and approved the Meter Acquisition Fund (“MAF” or the “Fund”).
The MAF was designed to offset the impact of DisCos’ limited creditworthiness on metering deployment across NESI.
The Fund establishes a credible revenue stream from market collections, which can serve as leverage for utilities to secure long-term financing.
The Fund is managed by a Fund Manager (“FM”) under terms and conditions negotiated by the DisCos and approved by the Commission.
Deployment of funds under the MAF scheme are intended to accelerate meter roll-out and close the existing metering gap, reduce commercial and collection losses for DisCos, enhance service quality, and improve customer satisfaction.
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