The recent report from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) shows that Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies billed N250.79 billion for electricity in July 2026 but only collected N205.53 billion.
This information was shared in NERC’s July 2026 factsheet released on Thursday. The factsheet, which this newspaper reviewed, revealed that the 11 DisCos received energy valued at N333.94 billion. This means only 75.10 percent of the energy received was billed to customers.
NERC highlighted that billing efficiency fell by 1.14 percentage points compared to the previous month.
Even with the drop in billing efficiency, the report showed that the DisCos improved their revenue collection. Their collection efficiency of 81.95 percent increased by 2.25 percentage points compared to June.
The companies collected N205.53 billion from total billings of N250.79 billion in July.
The published data showed big differences in the performance of the DisCos.
Eko Electricity Distribution Company had the highest revenue recovery efficiency at 94.67 percent, collecting an average of N133.29 per kilowatt-hour against an allowed average tariff of N140.80/kWh.
Port Harcourt DisCo came next with a recovery efficiency of 84.95 percent, while Benin recorded 79.15 percent.
On the other hand, Kaduna DisCo had the lowest recovery efficiency at 39.71 percent, followed by Jos at 46.27 percent and Kano at 55.41 percent.
Kano DisCo also had the highest billing efficiency at 85.37 percent. Port Harcourt followed with 82.34 percent and Eko had 78.63 percent.
Yola DisCo had the lowest billing efficiency at 61.55 percent, followed by Kaduna at 64.08 percent and Jos at 68.51 percent.
Abuja DisCo recorded 77.45 percent billing efficiency, while Ikeja and Ibadan recorded 74.28 percent and 70.52 percent, respectively.
These figures show that although the distribution companies collected a higher percentage of the billed revenue in July, a significant gap still exists between the value of electricity received, billed, and collected.
NERC stated that the changes in the July figures were compared to the previous month’s performance in June 2026.
Over the years, a major issue with electricity billing in Nigeria has been the estimated billing of customers due to a lack of meters.
Many registered electricity customers in Nigeria do not have prepaid meters, which forces DisCos to base bills on estimates instead of actual usage. Additionally, poor power supply due to infrastructure issues and grid failures continues to hinder reliable electricity supply in the country.
When President Bola Tinubu appointed the current Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, in June, he promised to focus on action rather than just talk. He identified power distribution, metering, transparency, and local participation as key areas to address.
"We must close the metering gap and ensure Nigerians can track performance through a transparent public dashboard. The sector must be well-structured, and the people deserve to see real improvement," he said at the time.
He also mentioned that state governments would be encouraged to generate electricity to ease the burden on the national grid.
"We will set clear milestones. If results are not visible in three months, they won’t be in six," he added.
While many efforts are being made to improve the country’s power sector, a stable electricity supply is still a luxury for many homes and businesses across Nigeria.
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