The Minister of Power, Chief Joseph Tegbe, has identified inadequate electricity metering as a major driver of the liquidity crisis plaguing Nigeria’s power sector.
Tegbe said the inability to accurately measure electricity consumption has continued to undermine revenue collection, discourage investment and weaken service delivery across the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
Speaking at the official flag-off of the Power Force Programme under the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI), Tegbe said the country’s metering gap was not merely a technical challenge but one of the principal factors constraining the growth and financial sustainability of the electricity industry.
“Where electricity consumed cannot be accurately measured, revenue cannot be accurately collected. Where revenue is uncertain, investments decline, infrastructure deteriorates, and ultimately, consumers suffer,” the minister said.
According to him, closing the metering gap remains central to the Federal Government’s efforts to restore confidence in the power sector, improve market liquidity and attract long-term private investment.
Tegbe said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration has prioritised reforms aimed at ensuring that electricity consumers pay only for the power they actually consume while service providers receive payment for electricity genuinely supplied.
He noted that smart metering would eliminate estimated billing, improve transparency, reduce disputes between customers and distribution companies, and provide DisCos with more reliable revenue streams to improve electricity supply.
The minister said the Federal Government had continued to implement reforms, strengthen market discipline and introduce targeted interventions to address legacy challenges and build a commercially viable electricity market.
He also welcomed the recent withdrawal of the court case instituted by the Association of Meter Asset Providers of Nigeria (AMMON).
The minister described it as a breakthrough that has removed a significant obstacle to accelerating meter deployment nationwide.
Tegbe commended AMMON, the Presidential Metering Initiative, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Meter Asset Providers and other stakeholders for resolving the dispute through dialogue.
He reiterated the government’s commitment to bridging the country’s metering gap, stressing that the shortage of skilled personnel had remained a critical barrier to achieving universal metering.
According to him, the newly launched Power Force Programme is designed to address that challenge by training 5,000 young Nigerians to become certified smart metering technicians capable of installing electricity meters safely and professionally across the country.
Tegbe said the programme would create employment opportunities, promote local content development, equip young Nigerians with future-ready technical skills and contribute to economic growth.
