Electricity billing efficiency slips despite whopping collections of ₦203.6bn

Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies (DisCos) improved their revenue collection performance in April 2026; however, widespread inefficiencies in billing and revenue recovery continue to undermine the power sector’s sustainability.

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This is the central finding of the latest performance factsheet published by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on Tuesday.

A review of the report shows that the 11 electricity distribution companies collectively received electricity valued at ₦302.96 billion during the month. However, they billed customers ₦252.43 billion, translating to a national billing efficiency of 83.32%.

According to the factsheet, energy received increased by 3.13% compared to March, while energy billed rose by 2.43%. Despite this, billing efficiency declined marginally by 0.57 percentage points, indicating that a larger share of available electricity remains unbilled.

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Increased revenues; improved performance

The report highlights that DisCos collected N203.61 billion from the ₦252.43 billion billed. NERC stated that this represents a collection efficiency of 80.66%—an improvement of 1.07 percentage points over March.

Consequently, average revenue recovered rose to ₦102.13 per kilowatt-hour, against the regulator’s allowable average tariff of ₦124.39 per kilowatt-hour. This resulted in a national revenue recovery efficiency of 82.11%, which is also an improvement on the previous month.

While these figures suggest a gradual improvement in commercial performance, they also reveal that nearly one-fifth of electricity bills issued nationwide remained unpaid during the month.

Eko Electricity Distribution Company and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company exceeded NERC’s revenue recovery benchmark of 80%. Eko DisCo emerged as the country’s top commercial performer, recording 91.56% and 94.26% in billing and collection efficiencies, respectively, with a revenue recovery efficiency of 102.09%. This performance means the company collected more revenue per unit of electricity than the regulator’s benchmark, reflecting robust billing and collection operations.

Port Harcourt DisCo followed with a recovery efficiency of 90.39%, supported by a collection efficiency of 91.41%. Benin (86.65%), Abuja (89.77%), and Ikeja (88.89%) also maintained relatively strong revenue recovery, though they remained below Eko’s performance.

Northern DisCos struggle

The factsheet highlights persistent weaknesses among several distribution companies in northern Nigeria. Kaduna DisCo posted the weakest revenue recovery nationwide at 43.15%, despite recording the largest month-on-month improvement in collection efficiency.

Similarly, Kano recovered only 51.87% of expected revenue, while Jos achieved 52.48% and Yola 65.07%. These figures indicate that substantial portions of electricity supplied across these franchise areas generate little commercial value. Collection efficiency also remained particularly weak in Kano (49.89%), Kaduna (55.38%), and Jos (58.93%). This suggests that nearly half of the bills issued in some areas remain unpaid.

Mixed trends

The report reveals significant disparities in billing efficiency across the country. Enugu DisCo recorded the highest billing efficiency at 92.77%, followed closely by Eko at 91.56%. Conversely, Kaduna billed only 62.81% of electricity received, while Yola and Jos achieved 66.35% and 69.50% respectively. These figures point to continuing metering gaps, energy losses, and operational inefficiencies.

Although national collection efficiency improved, performance across individual DisCos remains mixed. Some companies experienced declining collection performance despite relatively high billing efficiency. For example, NERC reported that Ikeja’s collection efficiency declined by 6.41 percentage points, while Kano recorded the sharpest deterioration, falling by 21.15 percentage points. Enugu and Ibadan also experienced declines. In contrast, Kaduna recorded the largest improvement in collection efficiency (an increase of 16.84 percentage points), although its overall performance remains among the weakest nationally.

What do the numbers mean?

The April figures suggest that Nigeria’s electricity distribution segment continues to face structural commercial challenges, despite incremental improvements in revenue collection.

The report shows that billing efficiency remains relatively stagnant, with nearly 17% of electricity received going unbilled and about 19% of billed revenue remaining uncollected nationwide. Additionally, commercial performance is highly uneven; only two DisCos surpassed NERC’s 80% revenue recovery benchmark, while several operators recovered barely half of expected revenue.

These disparities underscore the challenges of metering deficits, energy theft, weak collections, and operational inefficiencies that have long constrained the financial sustainability of Nigeria’s electricity market. Despite significant investments in generation infrastructure over the years, gas supply constraints, maintenance issues, transmission hitches, and ageing grid infrastructure continue to limit effective electricity delivery.

READ ALSO: New power minister promises visible improvement in electricity supply, says progress won’t be dramatic

Supply shortfalls have forced many households and businesses to resort to expensive solar systems and generators as alternatives. Spikes in fuel costs in recent months, following the reverberations of the conflict in the Middle East, have further driven up energy costs, making these alternatives largely unaffordable for Nigerians already grappling with a severe cost-of-living crisis.

The newly appointed Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has vowed that electricity supply will witness notable improvement, though he expressed reservations regarding the immediate prospect of round-the-clock power. Overall, while NERC’s April results point to gradual improvements in sector-wide revenue collection, they highlight the significant work required for most electricity distributors to achieve commercial sustainability.