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DisCos Record N123.8bn Revenue Shortfall In June
Distribution companies (DisCos) across Nigeria failed to convert a significant portion of the electricity they received into actual cash in June 2026, leaving a gap of N123.87bn between the value of energy supplied to them and the revenue they collected.
According to the latest commercial performance factsheet released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) on Thursday, the DisCos received energy valued at N315.73bn during the month. However, they only managed to collect N191.86bn from customers.
The difference of N123.87bn represents the amount that did not return as cash to the power distribution companies, the only group collecting revenue for the entire value chain.
The figures show a clear worsening of the collection situation. Total revenue collected dropped by 7.82 per cent from the previous month, falling faster than the decline in energy received, which stood at 4.02 per cent.
Collection efficiency also slipped to 79.71 per cent, down 2.61 percentage points from May.
Billing performance was only slightly better. The DisCos billed customers N240.71bn, representing a billing efficiency of 76.24 per cent. This was a marginal drop of 0.63 percentage points from the previous month.
Even after billing customers, the companies still struggled to recover the money.
On the recovery side, the average amount collected per kilowatt-hour stood at N96.63, compared to the allowed average tariff of N130.15. This left recovery efficiency at 74.24 per cent, a decline of 3.07 percentage points.
Performance varied widely among the individual companies. Benin Electricity Distribution Company recorded the strongest collection rate at 94 per cent. Eko and Port Harcourt also performed relatively well, with recovery efficiencies of 87.04 per cent and 86.33 per cent, respectively.
In the northern parts of the country, Kaduna and Kano posted recovery efficiencies of just 37.03 per cent and 44.04 per cent. Their collection rates were lower, at 46.13 per cent and 42.16 per cent. Jos managed only 55.18 per cent collection efficiency.
Ikeja, one of the larger DisCos, saw its recovery efficiency fall sharply by 14.54 percentage points to 80.08 per cent. Abuja also recorded a significant drop of 10.87 percentage points in recovery efficiency, ending the month at 73.98 per cent.
The data indicates that while some companies improved slightly in billing, the bigger problem remains the inability to collect payments from customers after bills have been issued. The gap between energy received and actual cash collected continues to place pressure on the commercial viability of the distribution segment of the power sector.
