The Federal Government has unveiled plans to train 5,000 young Nigerians, including members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), as electricity meter installers and technicians. This initiative aims to bridge the country’s metering gap and create jobs within the power sector.
President Bola Tinubu disclosed the programme on Thursday, July 2, via his official X account. He described it as part of the administration’s drive to expand employment opportunities while improving electricity service delivery across the nation.
Presidential Metering Initiative Details
The training programme will be implemented through the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI), a government program established to close Nigeria’s metering gap. The PMI also seeks to eliminate estimated billing, protect electricity consumers, and strengthen the country’s power market.
Under this initiative, 5,000 young Nigerians will receive training as meter installers and technicians through The Power Force. This will equip them with the necessary skills to support the nationwide rollout of electricity meters.
President Tinubu stated that the program is designed to provide participants with practical technical skills. It will also connect them to employment opportunities in a sector that directly affects households, businesses, and communities nationwide. The opportunity will be open to eligible Nigerians who have completed their secondary school education, with a dedicated quota reserved for members of the National Youth Service Corps.
Wider access to electricity meters is expected to ensure consumers are billed only for the energy they consume. This will also improve revenue collection by electricity distribution companies, enabling greater investment in infrastructure and service delivery.
Challenges and Progress in Meter Deployment
The announcement of the training program comes barely two weeks after the Federal Government unveiled plans to deploy seven million electricity meters nationwide. This renewed push aims to eliminate estimated billing and improve transparency in electricity billing.
Despite previous projections, such as the June 2025 plan to deploy seven million smart meters, implementation has faced significant challenges. Nairametrics reported on June 27, 2026, that a legal dispute involving local electricity meter manufacturers had become a major threat to Nigeria’s $500 million World Bank-backed Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP).
The Association of Meter Manufacturers of Nigeria (AMMON) secured a court injunction on April 30, 2026. This injunction prevented the opening of bids for the international procurement of 1.55 million smart meters, raising concerns over further delays and potential cancellation of that procurement exercise.
Despite these hurdles, Nigeria continues to make gradual progress in expanding electricity metering. Data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) showed that the country ended 2025 with 6,966,584 metered electricity customers, pushing the national metering rate to 57.27%.
The figures also revealed an acceleration in meter deployment towards the end of 2025, with more than 109,000 customers receiving meters in December alone. However, approximately 5.19 million active electricity customers remained on estimated billing at the end of 2025, underscoring the scale of Nigeria’s metering deficit.
Against this backdrop, the Federal Government’s decision to train 5,000 meter installers and technicians is expected to strengthen the human capacity required to accelerate meter deployment. This initiative will also create employment opportunities for young Nigerians and support efforts to eliminate estimated billing across the country.
