The Federal Government has officially prohibited electricity distribution companies and meter installers from charging customers any fee for the installation of electricity meters.
A move aimed at protecting consumers and tightening regulation in the country’s power sector.
Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, issued the directive on Thursday during an inspection of newly imported smart meters at the Apapa Port in Lagos.
The meters were brought into the country under the World Bank-funded Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), which seeks to close Nigeria’s metering gap and improve the accuracy of billing across all customer bands.
Addressing journalists at the port, Adelabu described the ban on installation charges as “unprecedented” and insisted that all meters must be installed free of charge for electricity consumers nationwide.
He warned that any meter installer or Distribution Company (DisCo) official found demanding money from consumers would face prosecution and sanctions.
“It is illegal for any DisCo or indirect installer to request a dime before installing smart meters for consumers,” the minister said, stressing that the government will treat such practices as a breach of regulations.
He added that the smart meters are part of a planned total of 3.4 million devices to be procured through the DISREP initiative.
And they are intended to ensure fairer billing and strengthen revenue collection for electricity providers while protecting customers from arbitrary charges.
