Nigeria: Metering - FG Launches Initiative to Train 5,000 Youths, End Estimated Billing

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying a This Day report, says Nigeria’s federal government has launched the Power Force Programme under the Presidential Metering Initiative, with a target of training 5,000 young Nigerians to install smart electricity meters. The programme was formally flagged off in Abuja, according to the report dated 24 July 2026, and is intended to support a wider rollout of meters while creating technical jobs for young people.

Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe described the initiative as both an infrastructure and workforce-development intervention for the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry. He said the country’s inadequate metering has been a major structural weakness because it undermines accurate billing and revenue collection, contributing to liquidity problems in the power sector. The government’s stated aim is to use smart meters to reduce estimated billing, strengthen customer trust, improve revenue for distribution companies and encourage further private investment.

The report also notes that Tegbe welcomed the recent withdrawal of a lawsuit by the Association of Meter Asset Providers of Nigeria, calling it an important step toward faster nationwide meter deployment. He credited engagement involving the Presidential Metering Initiative, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, the Bureau of Public Enterprises, meter asset providers and other stakeholders.

Olu Verheijen, Special Adviser to the President on Energy and Executive Secretary of the Presidential Metering Initiative, said Power Force is the PMI’s main workforce training programme. She said the first cohort’s training had begun in Abuja and that the trainees are expected to help build the skilled labour base needed for Nigeria’s smart meter rollout. The development matters because metering has long been central to disputes over electricity bills and to efforts to improve the financial health of Nigeria’s power market.