The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has revealed that the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) have only 704,801 metered customers out of its total customer base of 1,369,440 in the Southeastern Nigeria.
Mr Chinedu Anyigor, Senior Manager NERC, made the revelation at a three-day Town hall/ Complaint Resolution Meeting for customers of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC), held at Hilton Leisure hotel in Awka, Anambra State capital, on Thursday.
Anyigor identified metering as one of the major complaints and issues in the electricity industry.
He said both customers and distribution companies are affected by metering issues, as some customers use electricity without paying, leading to revenue losses for the distribution companies.
According to him, the federal government approved the national mass metering programme to ensure a balance.
“As of June 2025, in the South East region where EEDC distributes electricity, 704,801 out of a total of 1,369,440 customers are metered, while 691,639 remain unmetered.
“We encourage residents who are not comfortable with estimated billing to key into the metering programme.
“Many customers are also unaware of their rights and obligations. Customers has rights to safe reliable electricity service as well as active electricity metres,” he said.
Also speaking, Hajia Aisha Mahmud, Commissioner for Stakeholder Management at NERC, emphasised the importance of hearing directly from the people about issues affecting their electricity consumption.
Mahmud, represented by Dr Babatunde Zubairu, Head, Consumer Protection, stated that NERC serves as a mediator between customers and the electricity distribution companies, including EEDC.
Mahmud said it is not the responsibility of customers to pay for the maintenance or replacement of faulty electrical appliances such as cables, poles and transformers.
She urged residents to report such activity to the commission for prompt action.
The Commissioner also urged EEDC to engage their customers regularly and keep them abreast of information and development in the electricity industry.
The Managing Director of EEDC, Mr Vincent Ekwekwu, acknowledged the various challenges facing the company and affirmed its commitment to addressing them.
Ekwekwu who was represented by Chief Information Officer, EEDC, Mr Idika Okechukwu, emphasised the importance of collaboration to enhance the quality-of-service delivery to customers across the region.
“We are here to understand the concerns of our customers, resolve existing issues and improve on areas where we have not been doing well.
“Our billing, metering, reconciliation, complaint resolution, and operations teams are fully on ground to provide support.
“If you need your meter installed within 72 hours, we are ready to make that happen,” he added.
In his remarks, Mr Aliyu Tukur, Managing Director, Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) and Chief Electrical Inspector of the Federation, emphasised the importance of certifying electrical installations.
Tukur who was represented by Area Inspecting Engineer, Mr Osita Obiukwu, urged costumers to ensure their building are properly earthed and that meters are tested and certified by qualified personnel before installation.
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