Distribution company’s (DisCos) average energy offtake rose by a mere 0.08% in Q3/2023. This is according to the Q3/2023 quarterly report recently released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
According to the report, in the third quarter of 2023, the amount of energy used by DisCos at their trading points rose slightly to 3,253.83 MWh/h from 3,251.31MWh/h in the previous quarter, marking a 0.08% increase.
Meanwhile, DisCos received 7,184.45 GWh of energy during the highlighted quarter but billed end-use customers for only 5,682.11 GWh, resulting in an overall billing efficiency of 79.09%, down from 81.53% in the second quarter of 2023 (Q2/2023.
Collection Efficiency
DisCos collected ₦267.61 billion out of ₦349.55 billion billed to customers, reaching a collection efficiency of 76.56%, a slight improvement from 75.54% in Q2/2023. This uptick was due to better collection campaigns for post-paid customers.
ATC&C Losses
This loss measures the gap between revenue collected and what should have been collected based on energy sold. In Q3 2023, it stood at 39.45%, up from 38.41% in Q2, with technical and commercial losses at 20.91% and collection losses at 23.44%.
None of the DisCos met the allowed efficient loss targets in Q3 2023, impacting revenue collection and making it hard to sustain operations and provide returns to investors.
The report also stated that DisCos owed ₦208.70 billion for generation and transmission/administrative services in Q3. They paid back ₦158.43 billion, leaving an outstanding balance of ₦50.27 billion. The remittance performance dropped to 75.91% from 95.21% in Q2.
Meanwhile, the NERC report noted that international and bilateral customers did not make payments against invoices issued by the market operator, causing financial challenges for services rendered in Q3 2023.
