NERC Orders DisCos To Refund ₦20.33 Billion To Customers Who Bought Their Own Prepaid Meters

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has directed all electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to pay back a total of ₦20.33 billion to customers who paid upfront for prepaid meters under the old Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme.

Under MAP, people bought and installed meters themselves because DisCos were not supplying them quickly enough. The rules always required DisCos to refund that money gradually through extra energy credits added to prepaid tokens whenever customers recharge. Many DisCos delayed these refunds for years. Now NERC has stepped in with a fresh order (signed by Chairman Musiliu Oseni and Commissioner Dafe Akpeneye) to fix the problem.

Key points from the directive:
- The full ₦20.33 billion still outstanding must be refunded within 12 months.
- Refunds start automatically from March 1, 2026.
- Credits will come in equal monthly amounts when you buy units—no skipping months and no using the credits to clear old bills or debts.
- The process must be fully automated so customers get the benefit without hassle.

As of December 2025, only about 57% of customers nationwide had proper meters, so this is part of bigger efforts to reduce estimated billing and improve fairness in the power sector.