DisCos Collect N203.61bn Revenue in April; Kano, Kaduna, Jos Worst Performers — NERC

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has disclosed that Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies (DisCos) collected a combined N203.61 billion in revenue during April 2026, representing 80.66 per cent of the N252.43 billion billed to customers during the period.

The commission stated this in its Commercial Performance of Distribution Companies Factsheet for April 2026 released on Monday, noting that total revenue collected rose by 3.81 per cent compared to March 2026, while the sector’s overall recovery efficiency improved marginally to 82.11 per cent, up 1.06 percentage points month-on-month.

NERC, however, indicated that the aggregate figures concealed a wide performance gap across the 11 DisCos, with three northern operators — Kano, Kaduna, and Jos — recording revenue recovery efficiencies below 50 per cent of the allowed average tariff, which the commission flagged in red under its colour-coded performance classification.

According to the factsheet, Kano DisCo posted the worst recovery efficiency in the country at 43.15 per cent, despite recording a 7.5 percentage point improvement over March.

The commission disclosed that the DisCo collected only N8 billion out of N16.04 billion billed, representing a collection efficiency of 49.89 per cent — a decline of 21.15 percentage points from the previous month.

NERC further noted that Kano’s actual average collection rate of N52.56 per kilowatt-hour (kWh) was less than half the allowed average tariff of N122.40/kWh.

On Kaduna DisCo, the commission said the operator achieved a recovery efficiency of only 43.15 per cent, collecting N5.83 billion against total billings of N10.52 billion.

NERC observed that while Kaduna’s collection efficiency of 55.38 per cent improved by 16.84 percentage points over March, the DisCo remained among the sector’s poorest performers.

The commission added that Kaduna’s billing efficiency declined by 11.76 percentage points to 62.81 per cent, suggesting worsening commercial losses on the metering and billing end.

Regarding Jos DisCo, NERC said the operator recorded a recovery efficiency of 52.48 per cent — also flagged in red — after collecting N6.51 billion out of N11.05 billion billed.

The commission noted that Jos posted the sector’s lowest collection efficiency at 58.93 per cent, while its billing efficiency of 69.50 per cent declined by 2.60 percentage points compared to March.

At the other end of the performance table, the commission said Eko DisCo emerged as the only operator to exceed its allowed average tariff, recording an actual average collection rate of N128.43/kWh against an allowed average of N125.80/kWh, which translated to a recovery efficiency of 102.09 per cent — the highest in the sector. NERC further disclosed that Port Harcourt (PH) DisCo followed with 90.39 per cent recovery efficiency, while Abuja DisCo recorded 89.77 per cent.

On billing efficiency, the commission stated that Enugu DisCo led the sector with 92.77 per cent, followed by Eko at 91.56 per cent, while Kaduna and Yola remained at the bottom with 62.81 per cent and 66.35 per cent respectively — figures NERC said pointed to persistent metering gaps and energy theft challenges in those franchise areas.

The commission disclosed that the sector received a total of N302.96 billion worth of energy in April 2026, up 3.13 per cent from March, while total energy billed rose 2.43 per cent to N252.43 billion. It noted, however, that overall billing efficiency dipped slightly by 0.57 percentage points to 83.32 per cent.

NERC further revealed that the allowed average tariff across all DisCos stood at N124.39/kWh in April, against an actual average collection of N102.13/kWh — a shortfall of N22.26/kWh that the commission said underscored the sector’s persistent commercial losses and the revenue gap constraining investment and operational capacity across the distribution network.