Tired of Estimated Electricity Bills? The EBRD Is Lending Up to $10 Million to Fix Them

If you have ever opened an electricity bill and wondered how your DisCo came up with that number, you are not alone. Millions of Nigerian homes and shops are still billed on estimates, not on what they actually use.

Now a development bank is putting real money behind a fix. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is backing Beacon Power Services (BPS), a Nigeria-focused grid technology company, with a loan of up to $10 million. The aim is to help six of Nigeria's 11 electricity distribution companies measure power properly with smart meters and data software.

What happened

The EBRD announced the financing package on October 12. Its project records show the board approved a senior loan of up to $10 million in July, split between BPS's Nigerian company and its US parent. The loan sits inside a bigger $20.9 million project, with a $7.5 million parallel loan and equity covering the rest.

BPS was founded in 2014 by aerospace engineer Bimbola Adisa. It does not sell electricity. It sells the tools that help utilities see their own networks: a platform that maps a DisCo's assets and customers, an AI-enabled system for billing, outages and maintenance, and a customer app for tracking usage and paying. The new money will fund smart metering equipment and wider rollout of that software.

The key numbers

Up to $10 million: the EBRD loan to BPS

$20.9 million: total project cost, including a $7.5 million parallel loan

6 of 11: Nigerian DisCos the project will work with

About 4.7 million: customers out of roughly 12.75 million who are unmetered and billed on estimates, according to sector data cited by Launch Base Africa

47.69%: share of the 708,677 complaints filed against DisCos in 2025 that were about metering, per NERC figures

$13.9 million: what BPS has raised across four rounds since 2022

Why meters are the real problem

When a DisCo cannot measure what you use, it guesses. Some customers overpay and get angry. Others underpay or refuse to pay, and the DisCo loses revenue it needs to fix transformers and lines. NERC data shows DisCos recorded combined losses above N2.3 trillion across 2024 and 2025.

The government's own metering push has been slow. As of September 2026, only about 150,000 to 200,000 smart meters had been installed under the World Bank-backed programme, even though around 700,000 had been delivered. Private projects like this one add a second track instead of waiting on that pipeline.

What this means for Nigerians

If you are one of the millions on estimated billing, smart meters are the difference between paying for what you used and paying for what someone guessed. For small businesses like barbers, cold-room owners and tailors, where power is one of the biggest monthly costs, accurate bills directly protect your profit in naira. The six DisCos have not been publicly named yet, so watch for metering announcements from your own DisCo. Grid tech is also a growing job market: BPS alone employs over 200 people across five countries.

What to do if you are still on estimated billing

Ask your DisCo, in writing, about its current meter programme and how to apply.

Keep copies of every bill so you can show if estimates jump without explanation.

Complain to your DisCo first. If it is not resolved, escalate to NERC's customer complaint forum in your area.

Never pay meter money to individuals. Use only official DisCo or approved meter provider channels.

What to watch next

Which six DisCos get the rollout, and how quickly meters reach homes.

Whether results match BPS's earlier claims. Its founder has said its tools cut losses from 35% to 20% in some Nigerian and Ghanaian projects.

The EBRD's wider plan to invest at least $1.5 billion in Nigeria over three years, and the government's delayed tender for another 1.55 million meters.

Sources: EBRD, EBRD project summary, Launch Base Africa, Tech In Africa