Meters and Bills Drive Nigerians’ Power Complaints in 2025

Nigerians filed over 708,000 complaints against electricity distribution companies in 2025, with metering problems topping the list of grievances, according to a new industry report by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Metering issues accounted for nearly half of all complaints across the year, peaking at 47.69 per cent in the second quarter. Billing disputes and service interruptions were the next most common concerns, with the three categories together making up as much as 75 per cent of total complaints in some periods.

The most common issues among complaints received by DisCos in 2025 were metering, billing, and service interruptions, the report stated, adding that these cumulatively accounted for the majority of complaints in each quarter under review.

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The overall figure of 708,677 represents a steep drop from the 1.2 million complaints recorded in 2024. NERC explained the decline, noting that “the Commission has discontinued reporting of customer complaints in states that have established State Electricity Regulatory Agencies.”

Port Harcourt DisCo recorded the most complaints in the first two quarters, while Ibadan DisCo led in the third quarter and Kano DisCo topped the fourth. Yola DisCo consistently recorded the lowest figures throughout the year.

On the regulatory framework, NERC noted that “in furtherance of its mandate under Section 119(1)(c) of the Electricity Act 2023, the Commission provides channels for customers to lodge complaints, with DisCo Customer Complaint Units serving as the primary interface for resolution.”

Industry experts say the persistence of metering complaints reflects the slow pace of meter deployment nationwide, leaving millions of customers on estimated billing and prone to disputes. Frequent outages and unresolved billing errors continue to erode consumer confidence despite ongoing reforms.