KEY POINTS

• FCCPC chief Tunji Bello backed Lagos State’s move to eliminate estimated billing and urged other states to adopt similar reforms.
• Lagos will roll out compulsory metering from 2026 alongside feeder-by-feeder smart meter deployment and stricter DisCo oversight.
• Bello said effective metering supports accurate billing, reduces disputes and rebuilds consumer trust in the power sector.

FCCPC chief Tunji Bello on Tuesday backed Lagos State’s decision to scrap estimated billing in its electricity market, urging every other Nigerian state to copy the model as part of a broader push to rebuild consumer trust in the power sector.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, in a Tuesday statement, said Lagos’s reforms signal a clear shift toward transparency, improved service delivery and stronger consumer protection, with smart metering at the center of the new framework.

Now the intervention lands as Nigerians continue to flag estimated billing as one of the most contentious points in their daily dealings with distribution companies, a complaint that has dominated power sector grievances for years.

Lagos sets the template for estimated billing reform

Specifically, the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission, in its 2025 Lagos Electricity Market Report, outlined plans to enforce existing laws against supply without meters and accelerate universal smart-meter rollout across the state.

Indeed, the LASERC program includes compulsory metering from 2026, feeder-by-feeder smart meter deployment, stricter oversight of distribution companies, improved complaint resolution standards and sanctions for non-compliant operators. The measures form part of a broader strategy to strengthen overall market performance.

Moreover, the reforms put Lagos at the front of state-level electricity regulation following the constitutional amendments that allowed states to legislate on the sector. Several other states have since drafted similar electricity laws, although implementation has varied widely.

Bello pushes for replication

Furthermore, Bello called the Lagos move a critical step toward restoring trust in a power sector battered by years of opaque billing, supply gaps and high tariffs. He framed metering as the foundational reform that every other consumer-protection effort rests upon.

“Estimated billing remains one of the leading sources of consumer complaints within Nigeria’s power sector. Measures that accelerate metering and improve billing transparency are important to consumer protection and overall market accountability,” Bello said.

Additionally, the FCCPC chief said effective metering supports accurate billing, reduces disputes, improves accountability and gives consumers greater confidence in the system. He stressed the need to shield consumers from unfair billing practices, particularly where meters cannot accurately measure consumption.

The wider sector test

Meanwhile, Bello called on state regulators and subnational governments to replicate Lagos’s approach and accelerate metering deployments while tightening service oversight. He linked the metering push to broader sector reforms covering complaint resolution and service standards.

However, the gap between policy intent and operational rollout remains wide. Many DisCos cite high upfront costs as a barrier to mass metering, while consumers complain of long waiting lists and uneven enforcement.

Together with the federal government’s metering asset provider scheme, the Lagos initiative provides a state-level test case for whether smart metering can finally close one of the power sector’s most stubborn trust gaps. Many states are watching to see whether LASERC’s enforcement teeth match the ambition of the policy document.

Whether other state regulators move with comparable urgency will determine whether Nigeria’s electricity reforms scale beyond Lagos or stay confined to the country’s commercial capital. Yet for now, Bello’s call has put the spotlight squarely on subnational governments, with the FCCPC effectively offering federal political cover for those willing to push DisCos harder on metering and billing transparency.