DisCos lose over N202bn to non-payment in Q1 2025

BY MOTOLANI OSENI

Revenue collection by Nigeria’s Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) dropped sharply in the first quarter of 2025, despite a significant increase in customer billing, reflecting persistent inefficiencies in payment recovery across the sector.

Data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) revealed that the 12 DisCos collectively billed customers N761.91 billion between January and March 2025. However, only N559.3 billion was recovered, resulting in a shortfall of N202.61 billion and a collection efficiency of 73.4 per cent.

This marks a considerable rise in billing—up 106.68 per cent from N368.65 billion in Q1 2024—but also highlights worsening collection challenges, as the value of uncollected revenue more than doubled year-on-year. In the same period last year, the DisCos billed N368.65 billion and collected N291.62 billion, resulting in a smaller shortfall of N77.03 billion and a higher efficiency rate of 79.1 per cent.

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Although revenue volume improved over the N509.84 billion collected in Q4 2024, the sector’s mounting losses signal deep-rooted structural weaknesses. The Q1 2025 figures underscore the growing financial stress on DisCos and raise fresh concerns over the sustainability of Nigeria’s power sector.

A breakdown of the data shows disparities among the DisCos, with some firms performing better than others in revenue recovery.

Ikeja Electric billed the highest amount—N129.91 billion—but collected N101.2 billion, posting a shortfall of N28.71 billion or 22.1 per cent. Eko Disco issued bills worth N123.76 billion and recovered N101.51 billion, leaving a gap of N22.25 billion (17.9 per cent), while Abuja Disco collected N88.1 billion out of N109.73 billion billed, recording a 19.7 per cent shortfall.

Ibadan Disco recovered N61.73 billion out of N82.88 billion, with a 25.5 per cent shortfall. Benin Disco billed N64.96 billion, collected N52.31 billion, and lost 19.5 per cent to non-payment, while Enugu Disco billed N55.56 billion and received N44.95 billion.

Worryingly, northern DisCos—Jos, Kaduna, Kano, and Yola—recorded the largest losses. Jos Disco billed N36.31 billion but collected just N17.13 billion, reflecting a loss of over 52 per cent. Kaduna Disco collected N11.72 billion out of N24.22 billion billed, a shortfall of 51.6 per cent, while Yola Disco lost 43.1 per cent of its N14.42 billion billing, collecting only N8.2 billion. Kano Disco also struggled, collecting N25.5 billion from N40.51 billion, a 37.1 per cent loss.