Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in Nigeria have recorded notable operational improvements, with tariff collection efficiency climbing to 80.7 per cent in the third quarter of 2025, a rise of 4.63 percentage points from the previous quarter.
Okay News reports that the gains come amid sustained government support through ₦458.75 billion in electricity subsidies paid during the July-September period, covering 58.63 per cent of generation companies’ (GenCos) invoices.
Data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)’s Q3 report shows DisCos collected ₦570.21 billion out of ₦706.61 billion billed to customers, reflecting gradual progress in revenue recovery despite non-cost-reflective tariffs.
The subsidy, down 10.81 per cent from ₦514.35 billion in Q2, helped offset rising generation costs while certain end-user tariffs remained frozen at July 2024 levels.
NERC explained the reduction resulted from a 6.08 per cent decline in energy offtake and a 0.98 per cent drop in actual generation cost per kilowatt-hour.
Total energy received by DisCos stood at 7,348.95 GWh, with 6,158.54 GWh billed to end-users, achieving 83.80 per cent energy accounting efficiency—up from 82.43 per cent in Q2.
Billing efficiency improved marginally to 82.69 per cent, though cumulative billing losses reached ₦147.92 billion.
The regulator emphasised that prompt upstream settlements remain vital for sustaining generation and transmission capacity, with the waterfall payment structure incentivising DisCos to boost collections.
International bilateral customers remitted only $7.125 million out of $18.69 million invoiced (38.09 per cent), while domestic counterparts achieved 87.61 per cent with ₦3.19 billion paid out of ₦3.64 billion.
Individual performances varied widely: Ikeja DisCo topped collection efficiency at 100 per cent, followed by Eko (88.74 per cent), Benin (86.44 per cent), and Abuja (81.60 per cent).
Kaduna DisCo lagged at 45.67 per cent, with declines also in Ibadan and others.
Quarter-on-quarter improvements were led by Ikeja (+17.58 percentage points), Port Harcourt (+8.83), and Yola (+8.72).
NERC identified customer unwillingness to pay, service dissatisfaction, and inadequate metering as persistent under-recovery drivers.
The subsidies underscore ongoing government commitment to bridging the gap between cost-reflective and allowed tariffs in the absence of full market liberalisation.
