DisCos collect N1.63tn in eight months, miss N387bn

Politics Spice Special Features Education Sex & Relationship Interview Columns Opinion Advertise with us DisCos collect N1.63tn in eight months, miss N387bn Business & Economy October 30, 2026 12:00 am File photo: DisCos

Electricity distribution companies collected N1.63tn from customers between January and August 2026 but failed to recover N387.19bn of the N2.01tn billed during the period, data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has shown.

The latest NERC commercial performance factsheet released by the commission and obtained by our correspondent on Thursday showed that the 11 distribution companies collected N220.93bn in August, representing a 7.49 per cent increase from the N205.53bn recorded in July and the highest monthly collection in the eight-month period.

The August collection also exceeded the N204.74bn recorded in January by 7.91 per cent, highlighting an improvement in the industry’s revenue recovery despite persistent weaknesses in billing and collection.

The figures showed that collections fell from N204.74bn in January to N196.68bn in February, a decline of 3.94 per cent. They dropped further to N196.13bn in March, down 0.28 per cent, before rising by 3.81 per cent to N203.61bn in April.

Collections increased by 2.23 per cent to N208.15bn in May but fell by 7.83 per cent to N191.86bn in June. They subsequently rebounded by 7.12 per cent to N205.53bn in July before rising by another 7.49 per cent in August.

The August factsheet showed that the distribution companies received electricity valued at N346.49bn during the month but billed customers N261.10bn, leaving N85.39bn worth of energy unbilled.

This translated into a billing efficiency of 75.36 per cent, up slightly from 75.10 per cent in July.

NERC’s figures further showed that the companies collected N220.93bn out of the N261.10bn billed in August, leaving N40.17bn unrecovered. Collection efficiency improved to 84.62 per cent from 81.95 per cent in July.

The regulator reported that collections stood at N220.93bn in August, an increase of 7.49 per cent, while its collection efficiency rose by 2.66 percentage points to 84.62 per cent.

The increase in collection efficiency suggests that the companies recovered a greater proportion of the bills issued to customers, although the outstanding balance highlights the continuing challenge of converting electricity sales into cash.

The performance of the distribution companies varied significantly. Eko Electricity Distribution Company recorded the highest revenue recovery efficiency at 96.29 per cent, followed by Ikeja at 84.22 per cent and Abuja at 83.63 per cent.

At the other end, Kaduna DisCo recorded the lowest recovery efficiency at 41.90 per cent, followed by Jos at 52.80 per cent and Kano at 60.98 per cent.

The disparities show that the ability to recover revenue remains uneven across the distribution network, with some companies collecting a substantially higher proportion of the value of electricity supplied than others.

The industry’s recovery efficiency, which measures actual revenue collected per kilowatt-hour against the average tariff allowed by the regulator, rose to 77.63 per cent in August from 74.91 per cent in July.

NERC put the average allowed tariff at N130.15 per kilowatt-hour, while the actual average collection stood at N101.03 per kilowatt-hour.

An analysis of the month-by-month figures showed that the 11 electricity distribution companies collected a total of N1.63tn between January and August 2026, with collections fluctuating throughout the period.

In January, the DisCos collected N204.74bn before revenue fell by 3.94 per cent to N196.68bn in February. Collections declined marginally by another 0.28 per cent to N196.13bn in March, bringing the first-quarter total to N597.55bn.

Revenue recovered in April, rising by 3.81 per cent to N203.61bn, before increasing by another 2.23 per cent to N208.15bn in May, the highest collection recorded in the first five months of the year.

However, collections dropped by 7.91 per cent to N191.68bn in June, representing a month-on-month decline of N16.47bn. The figure was the lowest monthly collection recorded during the eight-month period.

The DisCos subsequently recovered, with collections rising by 7.23 per cent to N205.53bn in July before increasing by a further 7.49 per cent to N220.93bn in August.

Damilola Aina is a journalist at Punch Newspapers with over five years of experience covering energy, business, investment, infrastructure, and property sectors. He specializes in producing well-researched and insightful reports that inform readers and provide clarity on complex topics. Damilola’s work demonstrates practical newsroom experience, editorial insight, and a strong commitment to accurate and engaging journalism.

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