Abuja, Mar 11, 2026 (This Day/All Africa Global Media via COMTEX) --
Nigeria's electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) generated over N207.49 billion in revenue in December 2025, despite persistent nationwide power outages and declining energy supply across the country.
A factsheet released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on the commercial performance of the Discos showed that while electricity supply dropped significantly during the month, the utilities still maintained strong revenue collections, driven largely by relatively high billing and collection efficiencies.
The data showed that although the total energy received by the Discos fell to N309.65 billion worth of electricity in December, representing a 9.53 per cent decline compared to the previous month, the companies billed consumers N258.66 billion and eventually recovered N207.49 billion from customers.
Overall collection efficiency stood at 80.22 per cent, indicating that the utilities successfully collected four-fifths of all electricity bills issued within the period. The figures highlighted the paradox in Nigeria's power sector where consumers continue to face erratic supply and frequent blackouts, yet electricity distributors maintain strong revenue inflows.
A breakdown of the data showed that the Discos collectively billed customers N258.66 billion, while actual collections reached N207.49 billion, representing a marginal 0.62 per cent drop in revenue collected compared to the previous month.
However, the billing efficiency improved to 83.53 per cent, up by 4.82 percentage points, suggesting that the utilities were able to convert a higher proportion of the electricity received into billable energy.
The sector also recorded an improvement in revenue recovery efficiency, which rose to 79.62 per cent, reflecting better alignment between the approved tariffs and the actual revenue realised. The data further indicated that the average tariff allowed by the regulator stood at N124.30 per kilowatt hour, while the actual average revenue collected by the Discos was N98.97/kWh.
Among the electricity distributors, Eko Disco posted the strongest revenue recovery performance with 99.45 per cent efficiency, collecting N125.11/kWh against an allowed tariff of N125.80/kWh.
Ikeja Electric also performed relatively strongly, recording 85.32 per cent recovery efficiency, with an average collection of N104.34/kWh compared to an approved tariff of N122.30/kWh.
Similarly, Abuja Disco recorded 84.43 per cent recovery efficiency, collecting N106.04/kWh out of an allowed N125.60/kWh tariff.
Other distributors recorded moderate performance. Port Harcourt Disco achieved 79.29 per cent recovery efficiency, while Yola Disco posted 87.89 per cent, one of the strongest improvements in the month.
However, several utilities struggled significantly with revenue recovery. Jos Disco recorded the weakest performance in the sector, posting a recovery efficiency of just 40.67 per cent, with an average revenue collection of N50.51/kWh compared to the allowed N124.20/kWh tariff.
Kano Disco also underperformed with 61.99 per cent recovery efficiency, while Benin Disco posted 71.36 per cent. Similarly, Ibadan Disco and Enugu Disco recorded 73.19 per cent and 73.50 per cent recovery efficiencies respectively, indicating persistent challenges with bill collections in those franchise areas.
On the billing side, Eko Disco again led the sector, achieving a 95.38 per cent billing efficiency, meaning nearly all electricity supplied within its network was successfully billed to customers.
Ikeja Electric followed with 91.11 per cent, while Kano Disco posted 90.41 per cent.
At the lower end of the scale, Yola Disco recorded the weakest billing efficiency at 62.25 per cent, while Benin Disco achieved 70.16 per cent and Ibadan Disco 73.61 per cent. In terms of collection efficiency, Eko Disco again led the industry with 91.79 per cent, followed by Benin Disco at 85.36 per cent, and Ibadan Disco with 83.28 per cent.
However, Jos Disco recorded an extremely low collection efficiency of 42.92 per cent, underscoring serious revenue challenges within its network.
The report also showed that Kaduna Disco's data was unavailable, due to an ongoing update of its billing system to comply with regulatory requirements.
Despite the sector's relatively strong revenue figures, the data comes amid widespread complaints by electricity consumers over declining power supply and recurring grid disturbances.
COMTEX_475065691/2029/2026-03-11T11:34:32
by Emmanuel Addeh
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