Nigeria's $500M DISREP Metering Programme Advances with 1M Meters Delivered, Additional $308M in Pipeline

Summary: Nigeria's USD 500 million DISREP smart metering program advances with 1 million meters delivered, while Egypt and Kenya launch new tenders, driving procurement activity across Africa and emerging markets.

Nigeria's Distribution Sector Recovery Programme (DISREP), a USD 500 million World Bank-funded initiative to deploy 3.4 million smart meters across the country, has reached a critical milestone with approximately one million meters delivered to Nigeria as of early 2026. However, the program faces implementation challenges as only around 200,000 meters have been installed to date, with roughly 500,000 units remaining in warehouses awaiting deployment.

The slow installation pace has prompted the World Bank to warn that legal disputes, procurement bottlenecks, and slow contract execution are threatening the pace of power sector reforms. Despite these challenges, the multilateral lender is considering an additional USD 308 million financing package to accelerate the program, including the procurement of 1.7 million more electricity meters, network rehabilitation, and customer enumeration.

The DISREP metering program represents one of the largest smart meter procurement opportunities in Africa. Contracts for 1.44 million smart meters were awarded on August 28, 2024, with China's Sanxing among the major suppliers. The Nigerian federal government has demonstrated strong ownership through the establishment of the Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) and the approval of the 2025-2027 Metering Plan.

As of March 2026, the Federal Government's free electricity metering program had delivered only 217,784 smart meters out of a 3.2 million target, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission's first-quarter report. This represents just 6.8% of the target, highlighting the significant execution gap that needs to be addressed.

Nigeria is not alone in its metering ambitions. Across Africa, major utility tenders are driving demand for smart metering solutions:

Key African Tender & Procurement Highlights

In Egypt, the Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy launched a major tender for 530,000 smart meters in the first half of 2026, attracting bids from 12 global and domestic companies. The tender is part of Egypt's broader strategy to upgrade its electricity metering infrastructure through technology modernization.

Separately, Egypt's Electricity Holding Company (EEHC) signed a cooperation protocol with e& Egypt in July 2026 to deploy advanced smart meters at the telecom operator's sites nationwide. The project will link the new meters to EEHC's central systems, including the Meter Data Management (MDM) system and the Unified Head End System (HES).

In Kenya, the Kenya Power and Lighting Company issued a tender in May 2026 for the procurement of prepaid meters and circuit breakers to support the Kenya Off-Grid Solar Access Project (KOSAP), a Ksh. 19.37 billion initiative shifting focus from infrastructure development to commercial integration.

Latin America is also emerging as a growth market for smart meter procurement, with utilities across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia accelerating deployment plans in line with national energy efficiency targets.

The pipeline of smart meter tenders across emerging markets presents significant opportunities for both established global vendors and regional players, particularly those that can offer competitive pricing, local manufacturing capabilities, and compliance with international standards such as STS and DLMS/COSEM.

Source: World Bank DISREP Report, NERC Q1 2026 Report, Kenya Power, EEHC announcements, industry analysis
Published: August 30, 2026