Eleven electricity distribution companies (DisCos) in Nigeria suffered a combined revenue shortfall of ₦54.18bn in February 2025, despite issuing electricity bills worth ₦245.93bn to consumers, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The data, released in NERC’s monthly commercial performance report, revealed that the DisCos managed to collect only ₦191.75bn during the period under review, representing a collection efficiency of 77.97 per cent
The shortfall highlights the continuing financial challenges in Nigeria’s power sector.
The report also disclosed that of the 2,583.19 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of energy received by the DisCos in February, only 2,135 GWh was billed to end-users, indicating a billing efficiency of 82.73 per cent.
This left 446.19 GWh of energy unaccounted for, further compounding the sector’s financial inefficiencies.
A key factor undermining revenue recovery was the gap between the average collection tariff and the actual cost of electricity.
While the regulated cost of electricity stood at ₦116.18 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), DisCos were only able to collect an average of ₦88.21/kWh.
This ₦27.97/kWh shortfall was effectively covered by the government in the form of an implicit subsidy for the month.
Among the distribution companies, Ikeja DisCo received the highest volume of energy at 400.04 GWh and billed 332.37 GWh, with a billing efficiency of 83.08 per cent. Eko DisCo followed, receiving 365 GWh and billing 325.45 GWh at 89.02 per cent efficiency, while Abuja DisCo billed 278 GWh out of the 385 GWh received, reflecting a billing efficiency of 77.08 per cent.
Eko DisCo also topped the chart in cash collections, raking in ₦41.24bn, narrowly ahead of Ikeja DisCo’s ₦41.18bn. Abuja DisCo came in third with ₦35.67bn.
At the bottom of the performance rankings were Yola, Kaduna, and Kano DisCos, with collections of ₦60.2bn, ₦117.21bn, and ₦127.78bn respectively.
Aba DisCo, serving the fewest number of customers, recorded a modest ₦32.61bn.
