Nigerian consumers failed to remit over ₦63.46 billion to Distribution Companies (DisCos) in January 2026, a report from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has revealed.
According to data seen on NERC, despite a total billing of ₦268.20 billion issued to consumers in January 2026, the eleven Distribution Companies (DisCos) managed to collect only ₦204.74 billion leaving a staggering ₦63.46 billion unrecovered in a single month.
This collection efficiency of 76.34% highlights a persistent bottleneck that continues to stifle the industry’s ability to fund critical infrastructure upgrades.
The gap between energy billed and cash collected creates a domino effect across the value chain, limiting the DisCos’ capacity to settle obligations with generation companies and the Transmission Company of Nigeria.
While the industry saw a slight growth in energy received, the inability to convert that energy into liquid revenue remains the sector’s achilles heel.
The disparity in regional collection performance further complicates the national outlook.
While operators like Ikeja and Eko DisCos maintained relatively high collection efficiencies of 87.77% and 87.55% respectively, other regions struggled significantly.
The situation is particularly critical in Jos where the collection efficiency fell to 47.74% and Kaduna which recorded 50.94%.
These figures indicate that in certain parts of the country, nearly half of the electricity supplied is effectively being consumed without payment, undermining the commercial viability of those regional grids.
This revenue shortfall is further compounded by the difference between the regulated price of power and actual recovery.
While the allowed average tariff stands at ₦124.30 per kWh, the actual average collection was a mere ₦85.97 per kWh.
This 30% collection gap per unit of electricity suggests that until metering gaps are closed and collection mechanisms are modernized, the Nigerian power sector will continue to operate under a heavy financial deficit, regardless of how much electricity is generated or transmitted.