Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies (Discos) recorded a revenue shortfall of ₦54.18 billion in February 2025, according to the latest Factsheet released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The 12 Discos collectively recovered ₦191.75 billion out of the total ₦245.93 billion billed during the period, reflecting a 77.9 percent collection efficiency.
The report showed an improvement in revenue recovery, with a 6.56 percent increase in collection efficiency compared to January 2025.
Total energy received for the month stood at 2,583.19 gigawatt-hours (GWh), while energy billed was 2,137 GWh — translating to a billing efficiency of 82.73 percent, up by 1.81 percent on a month-on-month basis.
The average allowed end-user tariff was ₦116.18 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), while the actual average amount recovered was ₦88.21/kWh, resulting in a 75.9 percent recovery rate — a 10.5 percent increase from January.
Despite these improvements, revenue collection remains uneven across the distribution companies.
Aba Power recorded the highest allowed tariff of ₦200.88/kWh but posted the lowest collection efficiency at 53.9 percent. The company billed ₦6.44 billion but recovered only ₦3.47 billion from consumers.
In contrast, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) recorded the highest collection efficiency in February at 89.03 percent, having recovered ₦31.7 billion from ₦35.67 billion billed.
Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) followed closely with 88.76 percent efficiency, collecting ₦36.6 billion out of ₦41.24 billion billed.
Enugu Disco posted 88.47 percent efficiency after recovering ₦15.88 billion from ₦17.95 billion billed. Ikeja Electric reported ₦41.18 billion in billings and collected ₦33.35 billion, resulting in an 81 percent collection rate.
Ibadan Disco, which operates across seven states, recorded a 71.72 percent recovery after collecting ₦19.28 billion of ₦26.88 billion billed.
NERC noted that commercial losses and low cost recovery continue to pose risks to investor confidence in the power sector. A significant portion of these losses has been attributed to the metering gap, with over seven million customers still unmetered nationwide.
The lack of widespread metering has led to persistent disputes between customers and Discos, especially concerning estimated billing practices, which often do not reflect actual consumption. In response, NERC recently sanctioned eight Discos over overbilling violations.
Commenting on revenue recovery models, the Managing Director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), Abba Aliyu, stated that investors in off-grid mini-grid systems are achieving over 95 percent collection efficiency due to comprehensive metering and structured tariff enforcement.
With rising billing and collection efficiencies juxtaposed against substantial outstanding payments, NERC has reiterated the need for accelerated metering rollout and stricter enforcement of billing compliance to improve sector liquidity and attract sustained investment.
