- Over 55.6% electricity customers in Nigeria unmetered – NERC
Nigeria’s unemployment rate increased marginally to 5.3 per cent in Q1 2024 from 5.0 per cent in Q3 2023, with females recording a higher unemployment rate of 6.2 per cent compared to males at 4.3 per cent.
According to the latest report from the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday, in urban areas, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 6.0 per cent, while rural unemployment stood at 4.3 per cent.
“The unemployment rate increased to 5.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2024 from 5.0 per cent in Q3 2023.
“The unemployment rate among males was 4.3 per cent and 6.2 per cent among females. The unemployment rate in urban areas was 6.0 per cent in Q1 2024, the same in Q3 2023,” the NBS report read.
Among youths aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate decreased to 8.4 per cent in Q1 2024, from 8.6 per cent in Q3 2023.
However, the percentage of youths not in education, employment, or training rose to 14.4 per cent, indicating growing disengagement among the youth population.
“The percentage of Youth Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET Rate) was 14.4 per cent. Indicating a 0.7 percentage point increase from Q3 2023,” the report revealed.
The report also highlighted that time-related underemployment, which measures the proportion of workers available for additional work hours, decreased to 10.6 per cent in Q1 2024 from 12.3 per cent in Q3 2023.
Despite efforts to boost wage employment, the proportion of workers in self-employment remained high at 84 per cent, though it marked a decline from 86 per cent in Q1 2023. The data shows that rural areas had a higher self-employment rate at 91.9 per cent, compared to 78.2 per cent in urban areas.
“The proportion of persons in self-employment declined from 86 per cent in Q1 2023 to 84 per cent in Q1 2024. Disaggregation by place of residence, the rate of self-employed persons in rural areas was 91.9% and 78.2 per cent in urban areas,” the report revealed.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s labour force participation rate dropped to 77.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2024, down from 79.5 per cent recorded in the third quarter of 2023.
“The labour force participation rate among the working-age population declined to 77.3% in Q1 2024 from 79.5% in Q3 2023,” the report reads.
The labour force participation rate measures the proportion of a country’s working-age population that is either employed or actively seeking employment. The working-age population includes individuals aged 15 years and above.
Disaggregated by residence, the data shows a higher participation rate in rural areas at 82.5 per cent, compared to 74 per cent in urban areas. By gender, male participation stood at 77.5 per cent, while female participation was slightly lower at 77.1 per cent.
“Disaggregation by place of residence shows 82.5 per cent in rural and 74.0 per cent in urban areas. The participation rate among males was 77.5 percent and 77.1 percent for females,” the report reads.
The employment-to-population ratio, which indicates the percentage of the working-age population that is employed, also declined to 73.2 per cent in the first quarter this year, down from 75.6 percent in Q3 last year.
This reflects a contraction in job opportunities across sectors, particularly in urban areas where the employment ratio dropped to 69.5 per cent from 71.1 per cent. In rural areas, the ratio fell to 78.9 per cent from 80.7 per cent.
In February, Nigeria’s unemployment rate surged to 5.0 per cent in the third quarter of 2023 from 4.2 per cent in the previous quarter.
Over 55.6% electricity customers in Nigeria unmetered – NERC
Also, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has revealed that over 7.3 million electricity customers across Nigeria are unmetered.
The figure translates to 55.61 percent of the 13.16 million registered customers in the books of the 11 electricity distribution companies otherwise known as DisCos license by the Commission.
According to NERC’s 2023 annual report released on Monday, the DisCos have been able to meter only 672,539 customers as at December 2023.
There are indications that the slow-paced metering efforts by the DisCos may be a deliberate ploy to leave a large number of customers to rely on the controversial estimated billing system.
“As of 31st December 2023, only 5,842,726 (44.39%) of the registered 13,162,572 customers in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry were metered. DisCos installed 672,539 end-use customer meters in 2023.
“A total of 25,847 meters were installed under the National Mass Metering Program (NMMP) framework while 585,265 meters were installed under the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) framework.
“Furthermore, 6,912 meters were installed through the Vendor Finance Metering framework, while 53 end-use customer meters were installed through the DisCo Financed framework,” the NERC 2023 report stated.
According to the report, electricity subsidy dropped to N151.30 billion during the year, indicating a 17.7 percent decline from 2022.
The report read: “A Minimum Remittance Obligation (MRO) adjusted invoice of N858.03 billion was issued by Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading plc (NBET) and Market Operator (MO) for energy costs and administrative services to DisCos in 2023.
“The DisCos remitted a total of N706.73 billion, resulting in a deficit of N151.30 billion during the year. Based on the above, the gross DisCo remittance rate to the upstream segment for 2023 was 82.37 percent.”
The report also stated that the federal government is set to pay approximately N180.8 billion in electricity subsidies to power consumers in Bands ‘B’ to ‘E’, whose tariffs have remained frozen since December 2022, from the Federal Capital Territory.
Meanwhile, NERC said it has approved subsidy payments of N26.4 billion for Abuja consumers, N23.76 billion for Ikeja Disco, N22.21 billion for Ibadan Disco, N19.92 billion for Eko Disco, and N14.87 billion for Benin Disco this month.
In the September subsidy cycle, Enugu Distribution Company is set to receive N14.61 billion, while Port Harcourt Disco will be allocated N13.45 billion. Kaduna Disco will benefit from N13.14 billion, Kano Disco will receive N12.96 billion, and Jos Disco will be entitled to a subsidy of N11.68 billion. Yola Disco is slated to get N8.06 billion in this round of disbursements.
“In line with the policy direction of the federal government on electricity subsidy, the allowed tariffs for Bands B-E customer categories shall remain frozen at the rates payable from December 2022 subject to further policy direction by the government,” NERC said.
In addition, NERC has imposed fines totaling N8.3 billion on the country’s 11 DisCos for overcharging customers. NERC has also directed the DisCos to compensate affected consumers for the improper billing.
These developments were outlined in the September 2024 Supplementary Order of the Multi-Year Tariff Order of 2024, which was issued Monday in Abuja by the power sector regulator, led by Sanusi Garba.
