Uche Cecil Izuora
Revenue collection by Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) hobbled awkwardly in the first quarter of 2025, still showing signs of lack of collection efficiency in the system.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) revealed N761.91bn as bills to customers between January and March 2025, by the existing 12 DisCos but recorded a shortfall of over N202bn in their revenue collections.
This is despite a rise in electricity which showed that the Companies billing increased by 106.68 per cent or N393.26bn year-on-year from the same period in 2024.
But only N559.3bn was collected during the period, showing a revenue collection efficiency of 73.4 per cent and a shortfall of N202.61bn or 26.6 per cent.
However, this performance showed slight improvement compared to the same period in 2024, when the DisCos collected N291.62bn out of N368.65bn billed, representing a collection efficiency of 79.1 per cent and a shortfall of N77.03bn.
Unfortunately, the revenue lost in 2025 more than doubled year-on-year, and the percentage of revenue lost due to non-payment increased.
The performance indicates an improvement in volume from the total revenue collected by all Discos in 2024/Q4, which was N509.84bn out of the N658.40bn that was billed to customers. A detailed breakdown of the figures showed wide disparities in the performance of the Discos.
While some recorded moderate improvements, others still grappled with significant revenue gaps, raising fresh concerns over the financial viability of Nigeria’s power sector.
Analyzing the data according to individual firms, the Ikeja Electric, which billed the highest amount among the Discos, issued invoices totalling N129.91bn but managed to collect only N101.2bn, leaving a gap of N28.71bn and a revenue shortfall of 22.1 per cent, while Eko Disco billed N123.76bn but collected N101.51bn, a shortfall of N22.25bn or 17.9 per cent, while Abuja Disco billed N109.73bn and realised N88.1bn, losing N21.63bn or 19.7 per cent to non-payment.
ON the other hand, Ibadan Disco billed N82.88bn but collected N61.73bn, losing N61.73bn or 25.5 per cent. Benin Disco billed N64.96bn, collected N52.31bn, and lost 19.5 per cent; Enugu Disco billed N55.56bn, receiving N44.95bn in payments.
The Jos, Kaduna, and Yola Discos, recorded huge gaps between energy billed and actual revenue.
According to the data, Jos Disco billed N36.31bn but got back only N17.13bn, reflecting a revenue shortfall of over 52 per cent while Kano Disco billed N40.51bn, collected N25.5bn, recording a 37.1 per cent shortfall.
Also, Kaduna Disco billed N24.22bn and collected N11.72bn, while Yola Disco billed N14.42bn and managed to recover only N8.2bn, representing a 43.1 per cent shortfall.
The newest among them, the Aba Power, billed N17.65bn and collected N9.32bn, losing N8.33bn in the process.