KEDCO to install 128,000 free meters under $500m World Bank scheme

The Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) has unveiled plans to roll out 128,000 prepaid meters across its operational areas in Kano, Katsina, and Jigawa States under the $500 million Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), backed by the World Bank.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, KEDCO’s Head of Corporate Communications, Sani Sani, said the meters would be distributed free of charge to customers as part of efforts to eliminate estimated billing, boost transparency, and enhance power supply management.

He said the exercise which is in its advanced planning stage, will soon commence in phases, with priority given to unmetered customers.

KEDCO’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Abubakar Jimeta, reaffirmed the company’s commitment to ensuring equitable distribution and efficiency in service delivery. “Our goal is to meter all existing unmetered customers across the three states to ensure transparency, accuracy, and fairness in billing,” Jimeta said.

The DISREP initiative, launched by the Federal Government in collaboration with the World Bank, is designed to strengthen the financial and technical performance of Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies (DisCos), reduce commercial losses, and restore investor confidence in the sector. It also seeks to modernize grid infrastructure, close the nation’s metering gap, and promote accountability through performance-based incentives.

In a related development, the Federal Government on Tuesday announced that it had secured about N700 billion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) to fund the deployment of 1.1 million meters nationwide by December 2025.

The initiative, under the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI), is part of a broader plan to close Nigeria’s metering gap, strengthen revenue assurance mechanisms, and promote fairness in electricity billing.

Earlier this month, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) also approved the release of N28 billion to DisCos for meter procurement and installation under the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) Tranche B scheme.

According to Order No. NERC/2025/107, the MAF provides a structured financial model for fast-tracking meter rollout to unmetered customers at no cost, while ensuring a sustainable revenue stream for DisCos.

NERC’s Second Quarter 2025 Report further revealed that 225,631 meters were installed across the country during the quarter — a 20.55% rise from the 187,161 installed in the first quarter. Of these, 147,823 meters (65.52%) were deployed under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme, 65,315 through the MAF scheme, 12,259 under the Vendor Financed model, and 234 meters under the DisCo Financed framework.