Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies (DisCos) recorded a significant improvement in their revenue collection in the second quarter of 2025, with total earnings reaching N564.71 billion.
This was contained in the newly released Second Quarter 2025 Report by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The figure represents a 1.68 percentage point rise in collection efficiency compared to the previous quarter.
NERC reported that out of N742.34 billion billed to customers during the quarter, 76.07% was successfully collected — a modest increase from 74.39% recorded in the first quarter of 2025, when DisCos collected N553.63 billion out of N744.26 billion billed.
Eko, Ikeja, and Port Harcourt DisCos lead in efficiency
Three DisCos — Eko, Ikeja, and Port Harcourt — were highlighted for achieving remarkable collection efficiency, with Eko DisCo topping the chart at 87.80%. Port Harcourt and Ikeja DisCos also recorded notable gains, improving by 9.79 percentage points and 4.89 percentage points, respectively, according to NERC.
Other top performers include Benin (+5.04pp), Ibadan (+4.20pp), and Yola (+0.88pp) DisCos, which showed varying degrees of progress in revenue collection during the quarter.
“In 2025/Q2, three (3) DisCos recorded collection efficiencies greater than 80% with Eko (87.80%) recording the highest collection efficiency,” NERC reported.
Jos, Abuja DisCos lag behind
Despite the overall sectoral improvement, some DisCos experienced a decline in their ability to collect revenue from consumers. Jos DisCo recorded the lowest collection efficiency at 43.82%, while Abuja DisCo posted a 3.93 percentage point decline in performance compared to the previous quarter. Jos DisCo also saw a 3.37 percentage point drop.
NERC attributed these shortfalls to operational inefficiencies, billing disputes, energy theft, and low customer metering levels in some regions.
The regulator noted that the rising collection efficiency, albeit gradual, is crucial for improving the liquidity of the electricity market. Improved collections directly impact DisCos’ ability to settle obligations to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) company, and generation companies (GenCos).
What you should know
In its 2024 annual report, NERC revealed that electricity distribution companies (DisCos) collectively remitted a total of N1.18 trillion.
This remittance figure represents the gross sum with an outstanding deficit of N185 billion, translating to an overall remittance performance of 86.47%.
DisCos collected N509.84 billion in the Q4 2024 out of the N658.40 billion billed to customers, according to NERC.
According to NERC, this translates to a collection efficiency of 77.44%, marking an improvement from the previous quarter.
Nairametrics reports that the efficiency rate of Discos decreased by 4.76 percentage points, dropping from 79.31% in Q2 to 74.55% in Q3.
