By SUNDAY ABBA, Abuja
In what could be referred to as an improvement in capacity, the electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) operating in Nigeria recorded an increase in energy offtake performance in quarter (Q)1 of 2025, as against the record of Q4, 2024.
The information was contained in the 2025, quarter 1 sector report of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) released.
Accordingly, “In 2025/Q1, the average energy offtake by DisCos at their trading points was 3,781.94MWh/h which represents an increase of 421.17MWh/h (+12.53%) compared to the average offtake recorded in 2024/Q4 (3,360.77MWh/h). Cumulatively, DisCos recorded an overall offtake performance of 97.94% – the available Partially Contracted Capacity (PCC) during the quarter was 3,861.53MWh/h.”
The total electricity generated in the quarter also increased by 1,014.52GWh (+10.92%)4 from 9,289.95GWh in 2024/Q4.
In the same way, remittance was up in Q1, 2025 by about 3% from that of Q4, 2024 as the DisCos collectively remitted a total sum of N414.26 billion to the electricity market.
According to the report, in 2025/Q1, the cumulative upstream invoice payable by DisCos was N432.13 billion, consisting of N370.37 billion for DRO-adjusted generation costs from NBET and N61.76 billion for transmission and administrative services by the Market Operator (MO).
Out of this amount, the report said, the DisCos collectively remitted a total sum of N414.26 billion (N354.77 billion for NBET and N59.49 billion for MO) with an outstanding balance of N17.87 billion. Which translated to a remittance performance of 95.86% in 2025/Q1 compared to the 92.68% recorded in 2024/Q4.
The report revealed a decrease in the collection efficiency of the DisCos.
It said the total revenue collected by all DisCos in 2025/Q1 was N553.63 billion out of N744.27 billion billed to customers. Which translated to a collection efficiency of 74.39%, representing a decrease of 3.05pp compared to 2024/Q4 (77.44%).
During the period, the weighted Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) Loss across all the DisCos in 2025/Q1 was 39.61%, comprising technical and commercial loss (18.82%) and collection loss (25.61%).
The ATC&C loss of 39.61% was 19.07pp higher than the 2025 MYTO target (20.54%) and translated to a cumulative revenue loss of ₦200.495 billion across all DisCos. The ATC&C loss increased by 4.39pp (worse performance) compared to 2024/Q4 (35.22%).
The report said all the DisCos failed to achieve their target ATC&C during the quarter, with Kaduna DisCo recording the worst underperformance relative to the target ATC&C (Actual – 68.57% vs. target – 21.32%).
The report also revealed in 2025/Q1, the six (6) international bilateral customers purchasing power from the grid-connected GenCos made a cumulative payment of $5.80 million against the $17.24 million invoice issued to them by the MO or services rendered in 2025/Q1 (remittance rate – 33.70%).
Similarly, it said the domestic bilateral customers made a cumulative payment of N1,857.67 million against the N2,571.43 million invoice issued to them by the MO for services rendered in 2025/Q17 (remittance rate – 72.24%).
Meanwhile, the report said a total of 187,194 meters were installed in 2025/Q1, representing an increase of 0.41% compared to the 186,431 meters installed in 2024/Q4.
The new installations, according to the report, increased the net end-user metering rate across all the DisCos by 0.41pp from 46.57% (2024/Q4) to 46.98% (2025/Q1).
It said during the quarter, 148,713 meters (79.44% of the total installations) were installed under the MAP framework, 36,787 meters were installed under the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF), 1,074 meters were installed under the DisCo Financed framework, and 620 meters were installed under the Vendor Financed framework.
The report disclosed across the quarter, DisCos only successfully resolved 1,554 out of the 4,169 complaints that were filed at the NERC-CCU; which translated to a resolution rate of 37.27%. The number of complaints received across all DisCo-CCUs was 254,404, which represents a 7.72% decrease compared to the 275,681 received in 2024/Q4.
Report further revealed that as in previous quarters, metering, billing and service interruption were the prevalent issues of customer complaints during the quarter.
On Health & Safety, the report said the total number of accidents in 2025/Q1 was thirty-one (31), which resulted in fourteen (14) injuries and twelve (12)9 fatalities. Noting that the Commission has launched investigations into all the accidents and will continue to work with all sector stakeholders to improve the overall health and safety of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
As regards complaints in previous quarters on metering, billing and service interruption by customers, the number of complaints received across all DisCo-CCUs was 254,404, which represents a 7.72% decrease compared to the 275,681 received in 2024/Q4.
The Commission, according to the report, issued forty (40) Orders, fifty-five (55) licences, permits and certifications in 2025/Q1.