DisCos collect N203.6bn from electricity consumers in April – NERC

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Key points

• Electricity distribution companies collected N203.61 billion from customers in April.
• The collections represented 80.66% of the N252.43 billion billed during the month.
• Billing efficiency declined slightly to 83.32%, while revenue recovery efficiency stood at 82.11%.
• Eko, Abuja and Ikeja DisCos recorded the highest revenue recovery performance.

Main story

Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) collected N203.61 billion from electricity consumers in April, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

The commission disclosed this in its Commercial Performance Factsheet for April, published on its official X account.

According to the report, the 11 electricity distribution companies billed customers a total of N252.43 billion during the month and recovered N203.61 billion, resulting in a collection efficiency of 80.66 per cent.

NERC said the collection efficiency improved by 1.07 percentage points compared with the previous month.

The commission also disclosed that the DisCos received electricity valued at N302.96 billion but billed customers for N252.43 billion, translating to a billing efficiency of 83.32 per cent.

However, billing efficiency declined marginally by 0.57 percentage po ints from the level recorded in March.

According to the report, the industry’s revenue recovery efficiency stood at 82.11 per cent, with DisCos collecting an average of N102.13 per kilowatt-hour against the approved average tariff of N124.39 per kilowatt-hour.

NERC identified Eko Electricity Distribution Company as the best-performing utility in April, recording a revenue recovery efficiency of 102.09 per cent.

Abuja Electricity Distribution Company followed with 89.77 per cent, while Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company recorded 88.89 per cent.

The commission said the three utilities recorded the strongest revenue recovery performance among the country’s electricity distribution companies during the month under review.

The issues

Collection efficiency measures how much of the amount billed by DisCos is actually recovered from customers, while billing efficiency reflects how much of the electricity received by the utilities is successfully billed. Both indicators are key measures of the financial health of Nigeria’s electricity distribution sector and its ability to recover costs.

What’s next

NERC is expected to continue monitoring the commercial performance of electricity distribution companies as the sector seeks to improve billing efficiency, revenue collection and overall financial sustainability.

Bottom line

Nigeria’s electricity distributors improved collections in April, although a slight decline in billing efficiency suggests the sector still faces challenges in converting electricity received into billable revenue.