DisCos drive Nigeria’s power crisis, as electricity flows but revenue repeatedly disappears.
In October 2025, the distribution companies recorded a nationwide revenue gap of ₦44.27 billion.
First, the losses came not from power shortages, but from weak billing and collection systems.
Discos Lost Revenue, Not Power
According to NERC data, DisCos received electricity worth ₦303.85 billion from the national grid.
However, they billed customers only ₦255.19 billion, leaving ₦48.66 billion unbilled.
As a result, the gap exposed persistent failures in metering, customer enumeration, and billing controls.
Meanwhile, revenue collection weakened further across the distribution network during the period.
Out of the ₦255.19 billion billed, DisCos collected only ₦210.92 billion from customers.
Consequently, the sector recorded a revenue shortfall of ₦44.27 billion, according to the regulator.
Overall, NERC reported an industry-wide billing efficiency of 83.9%.
Winners And Laggards
In effect, electricity reached consumers without equivalent cash returns.
At the same time, performance varied widely among the country’s 11 electricity distribution companies.
On the high end, Kano DisCo recorded the highest billing efficiency at 98.05%.
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Similarly, Eko and Ikeja DisCos followed with 95.71% and 94.36% respectively.
Together, their results reflected stronger billing controls in parts of the Lagos electricity market.
Elsewhere, Abuja, Kaduna, and Jos DisCos performed slightly above the national average.
Specifically, each recorded billing efficiencies of around 84–85%.
In contrast, several DisCos performed far below acceptable levels during the reporting period.
For example, Enugu and Port Harcourt DisCos recorded billing efficiencies just above 80%.
Meanwhile, Ibadan DisCo fell to 73.51%, while Yola recorded 66.03%.
At the bottom, Benin DisCo posted the lowest billing efficiency at 65.32% nationwide.
Pressure On The Value Chain
As a consequence, these gaps weakened the entire electricity value chain across Nigeria.
Because of this, poor billing and collection reduced DisCos’ ability to pay NBET and generation companies.
Over time, liquidity shortages worsened, threatening supply stability and discouraging private investment.
Ultimately, the sector became increasingly dependent on government support and subsidies.
In response, NERC repeatedly warned that weak metering remains a major risk.
Accordingly, the regulator linked improvement to lower ATC&C losses and stricter performance enforcement.
Through this approach, programmes such as the National Mass Metering Programme aim to close these gaps.
If failures persist, sanctions remain possible for consistently underperforming DisCos.
Despite some progress, Nigeria’s electricity metering rate rose to 56.07% as of October 2025.
Nevertheless, revenue leakages continue to limit reliable power delivery nationwide.
