DisCos billed N255bn, collected N211bn in October — NERC

Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) across Nigeria billed customers N255.19bn for electricity supplied in October 2025 but were only able to collect N210.92bn, according to the latest commercial performance factsheet released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

The figures highlight persistent revenue leakages in the power sector, driven by a combination of unbilled energy and unpaid customer bills, which continue to weigh heavily on sector liquidity.

NERC disclosed that the 11 DisCos received electricity valued at N303.85bn from the national grid in October, representing an 8.73 per cent increase compared with September. However, only N255.19bn of this was billed to customers, reflecting a 5.65 per cent decline in billed energy value for the month.

This resulted in a billing shortfall of N48.66bn—power supplied but not billed—pushing industry-wide billing efficiency down to 83.99 per cent, a 2.45 percentage-point drop from September. In effect, more than 16 per cent of electricity delivered to DisCos was not captured in customer bills.

On the positive side, revenue collection improved during the month. Total collections rose by 7.48 per cent to N210.92bn, lifting collection efficiency to 82.66 per cent, up from September. NERC attributed cases where collection efficiency exceeded 100 per cent in some DisCos to the recovery of outstanding debts from previous months.

Nevertheless, the sector still recorded significant revenue gaps. Of the N255.19bn billed, N44.27bn was not collected, compounding losses from unbilled energy. Overall recovery efficiency—measuring the proportion of allowed revenue actually realised—stood at 82.49 per cent.

The commission noted that while the allowed average tariff for October was N116.25 per kilowatt-hour, actual collections averaged about N95.85/kWh, down 1.23 per cent from September. This gap continues to strain the entire electricity value chain, affecting remittances to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and other market participants.

Performance varied widely among the DisCos. Ikeja Electric emerged as the strongest performer, billing N41.26bn out of N43.72bn received and achieving a billing efficiency of 94.36 per cent. It collected N42.11bn, exceeding its billings, with recovery efficiency rising to 108.17 per cent.

Eko DisCo also posted strong results, billing N40.29bn out of N42.10bn received and collecting N37.67bn, although its billing efficiency dipped slightly compared with September.

Abuja DisCo, despite a decline in billing efficiency to 84.05 per cent, recorded a relatively strong collection efficiency of 88.35 per cent, collecting N34.39bn in October.

Port Harcourt DisCo maintained moderate performance, with improvements in collection efficiency offsetting a slight decline in billing.

In contrast, several northern DisCos struggled significantly. Jos DisCo recorded the weakest performance, collecting just N5.26bn out of N13.50bn billed, resulting in a collection efficiency of 38.98 per cent. Kaduna DisCo improved its billing efficiency but continued to record weak collections.

Other DisCos, including Enugu, Ibadan, Benin, Yola and Kano, posted mixed results, with some improvements in collections offset by weak billing or recovery performance.

NERC said the October figures underscore the urgency of addressing long-standing structural problems in the sector. The regulator reiterated calls for accelerated metering, reduced energy theft, improved customer enumeration and stricter enforcement of commercial performance standards.

Despite tariff adjustments and reforms under the amended Electricity Act, NERC warned that persistent weaknesses in energy accounting and revenue protection continue to drain billions of naira monthly, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability of Nigeria’s power sector reforms.