• Payment fell by N50.3bn in March despite 6.02% rise in energy received
•Ikeja posts highest revenue recovery, Kaduna records lowest
Nigeria’s electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) collected N196.13 billion from customers in March 2026 out of total billings of N246.43 billion, according to the latest commercial performance data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The report showed that the industry recorded a collection efficiency of 79.59 per cent during the month, indicating that approximately N50.3 billion of billed revenue remained uncollected.
The March factsheet also revealed a decline in billing efficiency despite an increase in energy supplied to the distribution companies.
According to the data, the Discos received energy valued at N293.76 billion during the period, representing a 6.02 per cent increase compared to February 2026. However, total energy billed stood at N246.43 billion, up by only 1.71 per cent from the previous month.
As a result, industry-wide billing efficiency fell to 83.89 per cent from the preceding month, a decline of 3.55 percentage points, the fact sheet showed.
NERC’s data further showed that while total billings rose marginally, actual revenue collection weakened. Revenue collected by the Discos stood at N196.13 billion, representing a slight decline of 0.28 per cent compared to February.
Besides, the collection efficiency, which measures the proportion of billed revenue recovered by operators, also declined by 1.58 percentage points to 79.59 per cent. Despite the challenges in billing and collections, overall revenue recovery performance improved slightly during the month.
The regulator reported that the average allowed tariff across the industry stood at N124.30 per kilowatt-hour, while actual collections averaged N100.75 per kilowatt-hour. This translated to a revenue recovery efficiency of 81.05 per cent, up by 0.38 percentage points from February.
A breakdown of the performance of individual Discos showed significant variations across the industry. For instance, Ikeja Electric emerged as the strongest performer in revenue collection and recovery.
The utility recorded total billings of N41.82 billion and collected N40.30 billion, translating to a collection efficiency of 96.38 per cent. It also posted the highest revenue recovery efficiency of 99.30 per cent.
Eko Disco followed closely with a revenue recovery rate of 95.73 per cent after collecting N33.89 billion from billings of N38.65 billion. Benin Disco also recorded strong performance, achieving a collection efficiency of 90.97 per cent and a revenue recovery rate of 85.18 per cent.
In terms of billing efficiency, Eko Disco led the industry with 92.30 per cent, followed by Port Harcourt Disco at 90.36 per cent and Ikeja Disco at 87.76 per cent.
On the other hand, Kaduna Disco recorded the weakest revenue recovery performance among the distribution companies. The utility collected only N4.66 billion from billings of N12.10 billion, resulting in a collection efficiency of 38.54 per cent and a revenue recovery rate of 35.65 per cent.
In the same vein, Jos Disco also struggled, posting a collection efficiency of 57.94 per cent and a revenue recovery rate of 53.53 per cent after collecting N6.74 billion from N11.63 billion billed.
Yola Disco recorded the lowest billing efficiency in the industry at 58.68 per cent, meaning it billed significantly less energy relative to what it received.
Other operators posted mixed results. Abuja Disco recorded a revenue recovery rate of 81.09 per cent, Enugu 81.79 per cent, Kano 76.09 per cent, Ibadan 71.65 per cent and Yola 58.58 per cent.
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