The Federal Government has barred electricity distribution companies (DisCos) and installers from collecting any payment for meter installation, warning that violators will be prosecuted.
Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, gave the directive on Thursday while inspecting 500,000 newly imported smart meters in Lagos. He said the meters, procured under the World Bank–funded Distribution Sector Recovery Programme, must be installed free of charge.
Adelabu said about one million meters have been received so far, with 150,000 already installed, as part of plans to deploy 3.4 million meters nationwide. He added that meters would be distributed to all customers, regardless of tariff band.
The minister said monitoring systems and complaint channels would be introduced to curb extortion, noting that Nigeria still has over five million customers on estimated billing.
