DisCos Remit N1trn as Govt Covers N1.94trn Electricity Subsidy in 2024 — NERC
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) says electricity distribution companies (DisCos) accounted for N1.37 trillion out of the N3.10 trillion total invoice issued by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc and the market operator (MO) in 2024.
In its 2024 annual report, NERC disclosed that DisCos remitted N1.18 trillion, translating to a gross remittance rate of 86.47 per cent. “Out of this amount, the DisCos remitted a total of N1,184.88 billion, translating to a gross remittance rate of 86.47 per cent,” the report stated.
The federal government covered N1.94 trillion — “62.59 per cent of total invoice” — in subsidies due to the absence of cost-reflective tariffs, with a monthly subsidy averaging N161.85 billion.
NBET’s invoice of N1.16 trillion saw N1 trillion remitted, a performance rate of 86.65 per cent. The MO issued N209.95 billion in invoices, with N179.36 billion remitted — an 85.43 per cent rate.
NERC said, “Kaduna DisCo recorded the lowest remittance performance of 31.55% in 2024 due to its significant ATC&C loss underperformance.”
Highlighting persistent liquidity challenges, the commission said, “DisCos’ inability to achieve 100% remittance to the upstream segment indicates that they were unable to earn significant portions of their allowed revenues.”
The sector also suffered “nine (9) incidents of system collapse in 2024,” including four full and five partial outages.
On revenue collection, DisCos recovered N1.65 trillion out of N2.19 trillion billed, reflecting a collection efficiency of 75.56 per cent. “Approximately N24.44 was not recovered from customers,” NERC said.
Ajaokuta Steel and its host community failed to pay a combined N5.63 billion in energy and service charges, prompting NERC to escalate the matter to relevant ministries.
