The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has disclosed that a total of 148,077 electricity customers were metered across the country in May and June 2025.

According to the commission’s factsheet on the Metering Status of Distribution Companies released on Wednesday, 63,180 customers were metered in May, while 84,897 were metered in June.

This brought the total number of metered customers nationwide to 6,422,933 as of June 2025, representing a slight rise in the national metering rate from 53.78 per cent in May to 54.33 per cent in June. The NERC data showed that the country’s total active electricity customers rose marginally from 11,784,842 in May to 11,821,194 in June.

By performance, Ikeja DisCo recorded the highest metering rate at 84.65 per cent, followed by Eko at 83.33 per cent and Abuja at 73.06 per cent. At the bottom, Yola had the lowest metering rate at 28.55 per cent, with Jos and Kaduna standing at 29.51 per cent and 33.46 per cent, respectively.

The report also highlighted Aba DisCo as the most improved, with its metering rate rising from 37.88 per cent in May to 45.17 per cent in June, after installing 12,376 new meters. Benin DisCo also crossed into the 50 per cent mark, increasing from 49.95 per cent to 50.33 per cent within the same period, according to NERC’s figures.

Despite the progress, seven of the 12 DisCos remain below the 50 per cent metering rate, leaving millions of customers unmetered and subjected to estimated billing. In response to the widespread use of estimated billing, often criticised by consumers as arbitrary, the commission maintained its policy of setting monthly energy caps for all feeders.

These caps specify the maximum amount of energy that may be billed to an unmetered customer based on the feeder’s total energy consumption and the usage profile of metered customers. However, there were reports that many of the DisCos still overbilled their customers, attracting sanctions from the regulator.

In the commission’s various quarterly reports, metering has remained one of the dominant causes of customer dissatisfaction, along with billing issues and service interruptions.

The National Pension Commission (PenCom) has released guidelines on Foreign Currency (FCY) pension contributions, as part of the pension revolution 2.0, for stronger pension and stronger Nigeria.

The announcement was made by the Director General (D-G) of PenCom, Omolola Oloworaran on X on Wednesday.

She said that PenCom was embarking on a wave of rolling out new initiatives daily to enable setting higher standards across critical pillars of the pension endeavour.

Oloworaran said that the FYC guidelines provide a pension arrangement under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS), for Nigerian living and working abroad.

Also, Nigerian/Foreign workers working in Nigeria, but earning all or part of their remuneration in foreign currencies and other eligible persons are to make their payment in dollars.

Oloworaran said that the contributors would also access their benefits in dollars, except they elect to do otherwise.

She said that the FCY pension contribution guidelines, which are being issued for the first time, mark a watershed moment for the CPS coverage expansion and financial inclusion drive.

The D-G said that the initiative is a bold reform which shows that PenCom cares about the retirement security of all working Nigerians irrespective of geographical borders. (NAN)

The Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, DAPPMAN, has urged the Dangote Refinery to adopt an open-door supply policy and provide marketers with fair access to petroleum products at reasonable prices.
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DAPPMAN spokesperson, Ikem Ohia, made this call on Wednesday, while responding to questions in an interview on ‘The Morning Brief’, a programme on Channels Television.

Ohia argued that partnership with the Refinery would guarantee steady fuel availability across the country.

He also dismissed a widespread notion that the Association conflicted with the Dangote Refinery, adding that all they wanted was collaboration that would help eliminate fuel queues and ensure Nigerians benefit from a stable supply.

“Our key interest is to have petroleum products offered at reasonable prices consistently, in a way that there’s no stock-out and Nigerians no longer queue for fuel,” Ohia stated.

According to him, while Dangote Refinery is currently the dominant supplier, a development the marketers welcomed, the core challenge was access and pricing.

He added that to efficiently move petroleum products across the country, DAPPMAN members have, for more than 20 years, built a robust distribution network, with depots strategically located in Calabar, Port Harcourt, Warri, and Lagos.

“What we are asking Dangote to do is to use these depots that are already in existence for us to meet the demands of Nigerians,” he said.

Dismissing suggestions that marketers asked for subsidies, the spokesperson stressed that the matter was purely commercial.

He further explained that most global refineries supply through two models- wholesale bulk lifting by vessels and ex-gantry retail sales.