Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies were only able to recover ₦191.75 billion of the ₦245.93 billion billed to consumers in February 2025, leaving a revenue gap of ₦54.18 billion, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
This was disclosed in NERC’s February 2025 commercial performance report, which showed a collection efficiency of just 77.97 per cent across all DisCos.
The report also indicated that out of the 2,583.19 gigawatt-hours of energy received during the month, only 2,135 GWh was billed to customers.
This means 446.19 GWh went unaccounted for, resulting in a billing efficiency of 82.73 per cent.
The difference between the average collection charge and the actual cost of electricity contributed to the revenue shortfall.
DisCos collected an average of ₦88.21/kWh, while the average regulated pricing was ₦116.18/kWh.
The resulting ₦27.97/kWh gap represented the implicit subsidy carried by the Federal Government.
In terms of energy intake and billing, Ikeja DisCo topped the chart with 400.04 GWh received and 332.37 GWh billed an 83.08 per cent billing efficiency.
Eko DisCo followed with 365 GWh received and 325.45 GWh billed (89.02 per cent efficiency), while Abuja DisCo billed 278 GWh out of 385 GWh (77.08 per cent efficiency).
Eko DisCo had the most cash collections (₦41.24 billion), followed by Ikeja (₦41.18 billion) and Abuja (₦35.67 billion). Yola, Kaduna, and Kano DisCos had the lowest collections with ₦60.2 billion, ₦117.21 billion, and ₦127.78 billion, respectively.
Aba DisCo, which has the fewest customers, collected ₦32.61 billion.
Experts warn that the growing revenue gap threatens the stability of Nigeria’s electricity sector.
“This level of revenue loss is unsustainable,” said Aisha Mohammed, an energy analyst at the Lagos-based Centre for Development.
“The DisCos need to significantly improve their collection efficiency to ensure the financial viability of the power sector,” the experts said.