Nigeria’s electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) generated a total revenue of ₦207.49 billion in December 2025.
Despite the substantial income, the sector recorded a significant revenue shortfall of ₦51.17 billion.
This is according to the latest Commercial Performance Factsheet released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The revenue loss highlights persistent collection inefficiencies even as operational metrics showed marginal improvement.
The NERC report, released on Friday, recently March 6, revealed that 11 DisCos billed consumers a total of ₦258.66 billion during the month. The collection of ₦207.49 billion translates to a collection efficiency of 80.22 per cent across the board.
This means that nearly one-fifth of the value of electricity dispensed to customers was not paid for, perpetuating the cycle of financial hemorrhage within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
Further analysis of the data showed that the utility firms received electricity worth ₦309.65 billion from the national grid. However, only ₦258.66 billion worth of this power was successfully billed to customers, resulting in a billing efficiency of 83.53 per cent.
The average revenue realised by the DisCos stood at ₦98.97 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), falling short of the allowed average tariff of ₦124.30/kWh, which put revenue recovery efficiency at 79.62 per cent .
DisCos Performance Mixed
Performance varied sharply among the 11 DisCos. Eko Electricity Distribution Company led in collection efficiency, collecting 91.79 per cent of its billings. It was followed closely by Benin DisCo with 85.36 per cent, Yola Electricity Distribution Company with 83.74 per cent, Ikeja Electric with 83.38 per cent and Ibadan DisCo with 83.28 per cent. Jos Electricity Distribution Company scored the lowest in collection efficiency with 42.92 per cent, followed by Kano Electricity Distribution Company with 57.45 per cent.
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In terms of actual revenue, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) recorded the highest collection, raking in ₦38.11 billion from ₦46.68 billion billed. Eko DisCo followed with ₦38.01 billion collected, while Ikeja Electric posted ₦36.20 billion in revenue.
Conversely, Yola DisCo recorded the lowest collection, collecting only ₦3.55 billion, followed by Jos DisCo, which collected ₦5.43 billion out of the ₦12.67 billion billed to customers.
Kano also struggled, with a collection realising only ₦8.98 billion out of ₦15.64 billion billed to customers in December 2025.
The NERC report noted that data for Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company was unavailable due to an ongoing upgrade of its billing system.
Grid Collapse Compounds Sector Woes
The release of the report comes on the heels of major operational failures that plagued the sector at the end of December. On December 29, 2025, the national grid suffered a system collapse, plunging the country into darkness.
Data from the National Grid showed that power distribution plummeted to as low as 50 megawatts (MW), with only Ibadan DisCo and Abuja DisCo receiving minimal load. All other DisCos, including Eko, Ikeja, Enugu, and Kano, recorded zero allocation at the peak of the collapse. The incident marked the fourth grid collapse of 2025 and underscored the fragility of the nation’s power infrastructure, dealing a heavy blow to businesses that rely on grid supply during the festive season.
Similar grid disturbances have been recorded in 2026 with two cases occurring within four days towards the end of January.
The recurring grid disturbances and the persistent revenue shortfall highlight the dual challenges of technical and financial losses facing NESI. While the NERC data showed a 2.73 percentage point increase in collection efficiency compared to previous months, the ₦51.17 billion lost in December alone underscores the long road to liquidity stability.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist, scholar and analyst of socioeconomic issues in Nigeria and Africa. He is skilled in energy reporting, business and economy, and holds a master's degree in mass communication.
