In Q3 2024, Nigeria’s DisCos collected ₦466.69 billion of the ₦626.02 billion billed, facing a ₦159.3 billion shortfall, with no company meeting its revenue target.
In the third quarter of 2024, Nigeria’s eleven electricity distribution companies (DisCos) faced a significant revenue shortfall.
While the DisCos billed customers ₦626.02 billion, they collected only ₦466.69 billion, leaving a gap of ₦159.3 billion, according to a report from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) released on Friday.
The report further highlighted a troubling 39.10 per cent Aggregate Technical, Commercial, and Collection (ATC&C) loss across all DisCos, marking an increase from 34.70 per cent in Q2.
This loss was comprised of 18.32 per cent from technical and commercial issues and 25.45 per cent from collection failures.
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Notably, no DisCo met its ATC&C target, with Kaduna DisCo exhibiting the worst performance, recording 70.84 per cent against a target of 25 per cent.
In terms of energy, DisCos received a total of 7,606.84 GWh but billed only 6,249.21 GWh, resulting in a billing efficiency of 82.15 per cent, a slight decrease from the previous quarter’s 82.34 per cent.
Moreover, collection efficiency dropped to 74.55 per cent, down from 79.31 per cent in Q2.
The report also revealed payments from bilateral customers.
Six international customers paid $6.49 million of the $12.19 million invoiced, while domestic bilateral customers paid ₦1.566 billion out of ₦2.1 billion.
Despite a 16.04 per cent increase in generation capacity, the financial and operational challenges facing the DisCos continue to hinder the growth and stability of Nigeria’s electricity sector.
Consequently, the sector remains under strain, with significant improvements needed to address its ongoing issues.