Metering, Billing Drive Over 708,000 Power Complaints in Nigeria – Report

A new report from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) reveals a significant shift in the nature of complaints lodged by electricity consumers across the nation. While the total number of grievances against power distribution companies (DisCos) saw a marked decrease in 2025 compared to 2024, a new primary concern has emerged: metering issues.

For years, estimated billing was the dominant grievance, leaving consumers frustrated by arbitrary charges. However, the 2025 NERC report indicates that metering challenges have now taken center stage, accounting for a substantial 47.69% of all complaints. This surge in metering-related grievances points to growing dissatisfaction with the provision of meters and the accuracy of billing, suggesting that the transition away from estimated billing may be encountering significant hurdles.

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The most common issues among complaints received by DisCos in 2025 were metering, billing, and service interruptions, which cumulatively accounted for the majority of complaints in each quarter under review.

Alongside metering, billing disputes and service interruptions continue to be major pain points for consumers. These three issues—metering, billing, and service interruptions—consistently ranked as the top drivers of complaints throughout the year, collectively representing a significant portion of the total cases. This persistent cluster of problems highlights the ongoing challenges in delivering reliable and fairly billed electricity services to Nigerians.

The report also notes a substantial year-on-year decrease in the total number of complaints, dropping from over 1.2 million in 2024 to approximately 708,000 in 2025. This decline is partly attributed to the NERC's discontinuation of reporting customer complaints in states that have established their own regulatory agencies. While a reduction in reported complaints might seem positive, the persistent issues of metering and billing suggest that underlying problems in the electricity sector require continued attention and robust solutions from both the DisCos and the regulatory bodies.

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The significant decrease in the number of complaints reported to have been filed at the DisCo-CCUs during the quarter is because the Commission has discontinued reporting of customer complaints in States that have established State Electricity Regulatory Agencies.