The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has directed the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) to accelerate the distribution of free prepaid meters to customers within its franchise area.
Adelabu gave the directive on Saturday during a working visit to the IBEDC headquarters in Ibadan, where he met with company management and key stakeholders. He said the engagement reflects the federal government’s commitment to maintaining close, solution-oriented relationships with operators in the Nigerian electricity supply industry.
“Our objective is to hear directly from IBEDC, understand their operational realities, identify their pain points, and explore how the government can better support their ambition as a utility responsible for powering homes, businesses, and industries. This engagement is in line with the ambitious plan of President Bola Tinubu to transform Nigeria’s power sector by ensuring reliable electricity for all Nigerians,” Adelabu said.
The minister charged IBEDC to improve its metering deployment efforts, noting that only about 16,300 meters had been installed out of roughly 59,000 supplied under the federal government’s Distribution Sector Recovery Programme Metering Initiative. He said early deployment of the meters was necessary to improve customer confidence, reduce losses, and strengthen the sustainability of the power sector.
“These meters were not procured by the Federal Government to remain idle in warehouses. They were provided to help utilities strengthen their financial viability, improve transparency in billing, and ensure that customers pay accurately for electricity consumed,” Adelabu said.
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He also encouraged IBEDC to leverage regulatory and operational opportunities, including embedded generation. He cited the concession of the Ikere Gorge Dam to Quaint Energy, which could integrate up to 10MW of additional capacity into the company’s network, and urged the company to explore franchising arrangements and interconnected mini-grid partnerships.
Adelabu assured that the government remains committed to creating a supportive policy and regulatory environment for viable electricity distribution businesses, stressing that the collective goal is to ensure DisCos like IBEDC are financially sustainable and capable of delivering reliable, affordable electricity.
Responding, IBEDC Managing Director Francis Agoha said the company had operated without a core investor for the past four years but has recently secured investors committed to driving the company forward. He highlighted ongoing collaborations with the Transmission Company of Nigeria, the Rural Electrification Agency, and contractors handling government power projects, promising that the benefits of these partnerships would become visible in the coming months.