DisCos failed to collect N60bn bills in December — NERC

By Seun Ibiyemi

The Federal Government, through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), has reported that the country’s 12 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) failed to collect approximately ¦ 60 billion in electricity bills in December 2024.

This information was disclosed in the commission’s factsheet for the month under review.

The substantial revenue shortfall raises concerns about the financial stability of the power sector and its ability to provide a reliable electricity supply to consumers.

According to the report, while DisCos billed customers a total of ¦ 238.21 billion for electricity consumption in December, they successfully collected only ¦ 177.96 billion.

This represents a collection efficiency of just 74.71 per cent, leaving a significant gap of ¦ 60.25 billion in uncollected revenue.

The data also highlights disparities in the performance of individual DisCos. Several companies recorded collection efficiencies below the national average, underscoring the challenges in revenue collection.

“This level of revenue loss is unsustainable,” said Aisha Mohammed, an energy analyst at the Lagos-based Centre for Development Studies.

“The DisCos must significantly enhance their collection efficiency to ensure the financial sustainability of the power sector.”

The failure to collect billed revenue has repercussions across the electricity value chain. It limits the DisCos’ ability to invest in infrastructure upgrades, maintain their networks, and meet financial obligations to generation companies (GenCos), ultimately affecting the quality and reliability of power supply.

The report further revealed that DisCos received a total of 2,705.86 GWh of energy in December, billing 2,257.83 GWh to customers. This resulted in an overall billing efficiency of 83.44 per cent—a slight increase of 0.11 per cent from November 2024, indicating gradual improvement in metering and billing accuracy.

However, revenue collection remains a pressing concern. Despite the increase in billing efficiency, DisCos only managed to collect ¦ 177.96 billion of the ¦ 238.21 billion billed, translating to a collection efficiency of 74.71 per cent.

Although this marks a 5.88 per cent improvement from the previous month, the gap between billed and collected revenue remains substantial.

In December, the average allowed tariff was ¦ 116.18 per kWh, while the actual average collection stood at ¦ 82.50 per kWh, reflecting a recovery efficiency of 71.01 per cent.

This means DisCos are recovering only around 71 per cent of the revenue they are entitled to collect under approved tariffs.

A deeper analysis of the data reveals notable differences in performance among individual DisCos. Eko DisCo recorded the highest billing efficiency at 89.03 per cent and a collection efficiency of 91.50 per cent.

Similarly, Ikeja DisCo demonstrated strong performance with a billing efficiency of 83.41 per cent and a recovery efficiency of 80.71 per cent.

On the other hand, some DisCos continue to struggle with revenue recovery. Kaduna DisCo, for example, recorded a recovery efficiency of just 31.87 per cent, while Aba DisCo stood at 45.91 per cent.

These low recovery rates suggest ongoing challenges in customer payment compliance, as well as potential issues with metering and billing accuracy.

The NERC report also highlighted changes in performance compared to November 2024. Yola DisCo saw the highest relative increase in billing efficiency, recording a 10.74 per cent improvement.

However, the report also noted that some DisCos experienced a decline in performance compared to the previous month