- DisCos collected ₦509.84bn in Q4 2024, remitted N378bn to electricity market, installed over 185,000 meters
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has revealed that two West African countries of Benin Republic and Togo owe Nigeria the sum of $8.8 million for electricity supply at the end of the fourth quarter of 2024.
The Commission also stated that Electricity Distribution Companies collected ₦509.84 billion out of the ₦658.40 billion billed to customers during the period. The figure translates to a 77.44 percent collection efficiency rate.
This was contained in NERC’s 2024 Fourth Quarter Report, published on its website in Abuja.
“In comparison, DisCos collected ₦466.69 billion in the third quarter of 2024 (Q3 2024) from the ₦626.02 billion billed, resulting in a 74.55 per cent collection efficiency.”
It said that the 77.44 per cent efficiency recorded in Q4 2024 represented an increase of 2.89 percentage points compared to Q3 2024’s 74.55 per cent.
“Eko DisCo recorded the highest collection efficiency at 90 per cent, followed by Ikeja DisCo at 82.63 per cent, maintaining their top positions from Q3 2024.
“In contrast, Jos DisCo recorded the lowest collection efficiency at 49.68 per cent,” the report said.
According to the report, a comparison of DisCos’ performance shows that eight DisCos improved their collection efficiency between Q3 and Q4 2024, with Yola and Kano DisCos recording the most significant improvements.
It, however, said the remaining three DisCos saw declines in collection efficiency, with Jos and Abuja DisCos experiencing the most significant drops over the period.
According to the report, the six international bilateral customers being supplied by Gencos in the Nigerian electricity supply industry “made a payment of $5.21m against the cumulative invoice of $14.05m issued by the Market Operator for services rendered in 2024/Q4,” translating to a remittance performance of 37.08 per cent.
The international companies are Paras-SBEE in Benin Republic ($2.65m); Paras-CEET also in Benin ($1.64m); Transcorp-SBEE (Ughelli) in Benin paid $1.71m out of $3.59m; Transcorp-SBEE (Afam 3) paid $0.90m out of its $1.2m invoice; Odukpani-CEET in Togo owes $2.37m.
The report showed that only Mainstream-NIGELEC paid off the entire $2.60m invoice issued to the company by the market operator.
NERC added that the domestic bilateral customers made a cumulative payment of N1.25m against the invoice of N1.98m issued to them by the market operator for services rendered in the last quarter of 2024, translating to 63.36 per cent remittance performance.
“It is noteworthy that some bilateral customers (both domestic and international customers) made payments during 2024/Q4 for outstanding MO invoices from previous quarters. Paras-CEET, Pars-SBEE and Transcorp-SBEE made payments of $0.98m $0.7m, and $1.3m respectively, towards outstanding invoices from previous quarters.
“Similarly, the MO received N135.81m from the domestic bilateral customers [NDPHC-Wewood: N21.17m; North South/Star Pipe: N11m; Taopex: N83m; and Trans-Amadi (OAU/FMPI): N20.74m towards outstanding invoices from previous quarters,” the report stressed.
The regulator reports that the special customer, Ajaokuta Steel Co. Ltd, and the host community did not make any payment towards the N1.27bn (NBET) and ₦0.11bn (MO) invoices received in 2024/Q4.
“This continues a longstanding trend of non-payment by this customer, and the commission has communicated the need for intervention on this issue to the relevant FGN authorities,” NERC said.
Also, NERC said Nigeria’s 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) collectively remitted ₦378.93 billion to the electricity market in the fourth quarter of 2024, according to a report by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
The remitted amount was part of the total ₦408.86 billion invoice for the quarter, leaving an outstanding balance of ₦29.92 billion.
“In 2024/Q4, the cumulative upstream invoice payable by DisCos was ₦408.86bn, consisting of ₦360.97bn for DRO-adjusted generation costs from NBET and ₦47.89bn for transmission and administrative services by the Market Operator (MO),” the report stated.
It further revealed that “out of this amount, the DisCos collectively remitted a total sum of ₦378.93bn (₦336.63bn for NBET and ₦42.30bn for MO), with an outstanding balance of ₦29.92bn.
This translates to a remittance performance of 92.68 per cent in 2024/Q4 compared to the 83.77 per cent recorded in 2024/Q3.”
The report also highlighted progress in metering, with DisCos installing 185,439 meters during the period under review. This marks a slight 0.19 per cent increase from Q3 2024, when 185,087 meters were installed.
The new installations resulted in a 0.42 percentage point (PP) increase in the net end-user metering rate across all DisCos, raising it from 46.15 per cent in Q3 to 46.57 per cent in Q4.
“During the quarter, 179,064 meters, representing 96.56 per cent of the total installations, were installed under the Meter Asset Providers (MAP) framework, while 4,076 meters were installed under the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF),” the report stated.
Additionally, 1,924 meters were installed through the vendor-financed framework, while 374 meters were provided under the DisCo-financed framework.
With the increase in remittance performance and metering expansion, the report underscores ongoing efforts to improve Nigeria’s electricity distribution and financial sustainability.