Electricity distribution companies operating on Nigeria’s national grid recorded a N51.17 billion revenue shortfall in December 2025.

This was revealed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission in its December commercial performance fact sheet published on its website on Saturday.

According to the report, the country’s 11 electricity distribution companies billed customers N258.66 billion during the month but were only able to collect N207.49 billion.

NERC said the performance translates to a collection efficiency of 80.22 per cent across the electricity distribution companies operating on the national grid.

“Out of the billed amount, the companies collected N207.49 billion, leaving a revenue shortfall of N51.17 billion,” the commission stated.

The factsheet also showed that the DisCos received electricity worth N309.65 billion from the grid during the review period.

However, only N258.66 billion worth of the energy supplied was successfully billed to customers, resulting in a billing efficiency of 83.53%.

The commission further disclosed that the actual average revenue realised by the DisCos stood at N98.97 per kilowatt hour, compared with an allowed average tariff of N124.30 per kilowatt hour.

This resulted in a revenue recovery efficiency of 79.62% for the power distribution segment.

A breakdown of the data shows that Abuja Electricity Distribution Company recorded the highest revenue collection in December.

The company collected N38.11 billion out of N46.68 billion billed, representing a collection efficiency of 81.64%.

Ikeja Electric followed with N36.20 billion recovered from N43.41 billion billed, translating to 83.38% collection efficiency.

Meanwhile, Eko Electricity Distribution Company posted one of the strongest performances with N38.01 billion collected from N41.41 billion billed, achieving 91.79% collection efficiency.

According to the report, Benin Electricity Distribution Company collected N18.38 billion from N21.53 billion billed during the month.

Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company recovered N17.62 billion out of N21.6 billion billed.

Similarly, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company collected N23.60 billion from N28.34 billion billed.

Enugu Electricity Distribution Company realised N17.57 billion from N23.08 billion billed during the review period.

In northern Nigeria, Kano Electricity Distribution Company collected N8.98 billion from N15.64 billion billed, representing a collection efficiency of 57.45%.

Yola Electricity Distribution Company realised N3.55 billion from N4.25 billion billed.

The regulator said Jos Electricity Distribution Company recorded the lowest collection efficiency among the utilities.

The company collected N5.43 billion from N12.67 billion billed in December, representing 42.92% collection efficiency.

NERC noted that data for Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company was not available in the report.

The commission attributed the absence to an ongoing upgrade of the company’s billing system to meet regulatory requirements.

NERC has consistently emphasised metering as a key solution to revenue leakages and consumer disputes in the power sector.

Revenue shortfalls in the distribution segment often cascade across the value chain, affecting power generation and transmission.

The regulator reaffirmed its commitment to enforcing market rules, strengthening regulatory oversight, and supporting reforms aimed at improving efficiency, transparency, and service delivery across the electricity distribution segment.

For Q3 2025, NERC reported that the DisCos generated N570.25 billion out of a total bill of N706.61 billion issued to electricity consumers nationwide during the period.

The N570.25 billion collected translates to a collection efficiency of 80.70%, representing a 4.63 percentage-point improvement from the 76.07% recorded in the second quarter of 2025.