Electricity Consumers Owe DisCos N54bn in February — NERC
Despite ongoing efforts to stabilise Nigeria’s electricity sector, power distribution companies (DisCos) were left grappling with a revenue shortfall of ₦54 billion in February 2025, according to data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
In its latest Factsheet for February, NERC revealed that the 12 licensed DisCos collectively billed electricity consumers a total of ₦245.93 billion during the month under review. However, only ₦191.75 billion was recovered — representing a collection efficiency of 77.9 per cent. This marks a modest 6.56 per cent improvement over January’s performance.
The report also shed light on the operational dynamics of the sector in February. A total of 2,583.19 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of energy was wheeled to the DisCos, out of which 2,137 GWh was successfully billed to end-users — an 82.73 per cent billing efficiency. This figure reflects a slight month-on-month gain of 1.81 per cent.
While the average allowed end-user tariff stood at ₦116.18 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), the DisCos managed to collect just ₦88.21/kWh, translating to a 75.9 per cent recovery efficiency — up 10.5 per cent from January.
Aba Power stood out in the report, albeit for mixed reasons. The utility, which operates under the highest allowed tariff of ₦200.88/kWh, could only collect an average of ₦127.58/kWh from customers. With total billings of ₦6.44 billion for February, its collection of ₦3.47 billion placed its recovery rate at a sector-low 53.90 per cent.
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In contrast, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) emerged the top performer with a collection efficiency of 89.03 per cent. The Disco recovered ₦31.7 billion out of ₦35.67 billion billed. Eko Disco followed closely with an 88.76 per cent efficiency, having recovered ₦36.6 billion of the ₦41.24 billion billed.
Other strong performers include Enugu Disco, which collected ₦15.88 billion out of ₦17.95 billion billed (88.47%), and Ikeja Electric with an 81 per cent recovery rate — collecting ₦33.35 billion from ₦41.18 billion billed. Ibadan Disco, serving a vast area across seven states, posted a 71.72 per cent collection rate, with ₦19.28 billion recovered from ₦26.88 billion billed.
However, the sector continues to battle the twin challenges of commercial losses and low revenue recovery, which remain a major red flag for both local and international investors. A key contributor to these losses is the persistent metering gap — with over seven million customers still unmetered nationwide. The result is frequent disputes over estimated billing, with many customers expressing dissatisfaction over arbitrary charges that do not reflect actual consumption.
The regulator has not been idle in addressing these issues. In recent weeks, NERC sanctioned eight DisCos for overbilling, sending a strong signal to operators that customer exploitation will not be tolerated.
Meanwhile, in a recent engagement with journalists, the Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu, revealed a more encouraging trend in the mini-grid sub-sector. According to him, private investors are recording significant returns due to widespread metering, with some achieving over 95 per cent collection efficiency — a benchmark the mainstream grid operators continue to chase.
