Trainees under the Federal Government’s Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) are preparing to enter Nigeria’s electricity metering workforce as the Presidency targets the installation of 750,000 electricity meters in 2027.
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The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) disclosed the planned deployment in its metering factsheet issued on October 14, 2026, stating that the PMI “starts in 2027 with 750,000 meters to help close the metering gap”.
The target comes as the government continues efforts to expand electricity metering, improve billing accuracy and reduce dependence on estimated bills.
However, NERC’s factsheet did not explicitly confirm whether trainees currently undergoing PMI training would personally install all 750,000 meters. The planned deployment nevertheless highlights the scale of metering activity expected under the initiative.
Nigeria had 12.75 million active electricity customers as of August 2026, according to NERC. Of these, 8.05 million had meters, representing a metering rate of 63.10 per cent. Approximately 4.7 million customers remained without meters.
The planned 750,000 installations would address part of this shortfall, although further deployments would be required to cover the remaining unmetered customers.
The PMI is one of several interventions supporting meter deployment in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). Other programmes include the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme, National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP), Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) and the World Bank-backed Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP).
Under MAP, customers can pay upfront for meters and receive refunds through energy credits. NERC said NMMP was introduced alongside MAP under the 2021 regulations to accelerate mass metering.
The MAF helps electricity distribution companies (DisCos) obtain long-term financing for meter procurement. NERC stated that meters procured and installed under MAF Tranches A and B come at no cost to customers.
DISREP operates alongside the other schemes to accelerate metering and protect distribution company revenue. Its Investment Project Financing component supports bulk procurement of meters for DisCos.
The commission has not provided a breakdown of how the 750,000 meters will be allocated among distribution companies or the specific communities scheduled to benefit in 2027.
For PMI trainees, the planned deployment signals the scale of the government’s metering target, but their individual deployment arrangements remain unconfirmed by the factsheet.
How to check for updates
PMI trainees should follow official announcements from the Presidential Metering Initiative, NAPTIN and NERC for confirmed information about deployment, assignments and future training activities. The official PMI website is pmi.naptin.gov.ng.
