DisCos Lose N70bn Revenue in May as Collection Efficiency Drops to 73%

Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies (DisCos) were unable to recover N70.25bn from customers in May 2025, despite an increase in energy supply, according to the latest commercial performance report from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

The report shows that the 12 DisCos issued bills worth N261.82bn during the month but collected only N191.57bn, reflecting a collection efficiency of 73.17 per cent. This marks a 4.42 percentage point decline compared to April 2025.

Energy supply to the DisCos rose by 5.8 per cent to 2,774.49 gigawatt-hours (GWh), while the energy billed increased by 3.25 per cent to 2,255.51 GWh. However, billing efficiency fell to 81.29 per cent, a 2.01 percentage point drop from the previous month.

Revenue recovery also declined sharply. Although the approved average tariff was N116.25 per kilowatt-hour, actual collections averaged N82.05/kWh, resulting in a recovery efficiency of 70.58 per cent — down by 7.32 percentage points from April.

Among the DisCos, Ikeja, Benin, and Eko performed best, with Ikeja leading billing efficiency at 89.04 per cent and Eko posting the highest recovery efficiency at 82.52 per cent. Jos and Yola remained the worst performers, with Jos recording the lowest collection efficiency at 35.55 per cent and Yola the weakest billing efficiency at 63.45 per cent.

NERC noted that while power supply and billing slightly improved, the overall commercial performance of the DisCos deteriorated in May, highlighting persistent revenue assurance and financial sustainability challenges in the power distribution sector.