Abuja — Data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has indicated that power Distribution Companies (Discos) provided metering devices for 187,765 new customers in the two months covering September and October this year.

Stating this in its latest metering fact sheet for both months, which shows how the power distributors are progressing in closing the country's metering gap, the NERC report showed that 80,943 customers were metered in September, while 106,822 new meters were provided in October.

Besides, the fact sheet indicated that the national metering rate has risen from 55.37 per cent to 56.07 per cent, a significant jump during the period under review, even as the number of active electricity customers rose slightly from 12.03 million to 12.07 million.

In the same vein, the total number of metered customers increased from 6.66 million to 6.76 million, with Aba Power boosting its metering rate from 69.49 per cent in September to 78.20 per cent in October.

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Also, the report showed that Eko and Ikeja Discos maintained their positions as each sustained its metering rates above 84 per cent, while Abuja Disco recorded consistent meter additions, with 74.82 per cent metering rate.

Overall, total metering rate as of October was 56.07 per cent, with Abuja contributing 19,118 meters; Aba, 18,906; Ikeja, 17,046 and Ibadan Disco, 15,739 as of October this year.

"(There was) strong improvement from Aba (69.49 per cent to 78.20 per cent) and consistent gains from Abuja, Eko, Ikeja, and Ibadan. Eko and Ikeja remain the top performers with metering rates above 84 per cent.

"Discos with metering rates below 50 per cent, including Enugu, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, and Yola, continue to meter new customers; however, accelerated rollout is still required to close the gap," NERC stated.