Power Sector Lost N1.36tn to Billing, Collection Gaps in 2025 — NERC

Power Sector Lost N1.36tn to Billing, Collection Gaps in 2025 — NERC

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) says Nigeria’s electricity sector lost about N1.36 trillion in 2025 to billing and collection gaps.

According to NERC’s 2025 Annual Report, 11 Distribution Companies supplied electricity valued at N3.68 trillion but billed customers for only N2.99 trillion. This left N694.8 billion worth of power unbilled.

Of the N2.99 trillion billed, the DisCos collected only N2.32 trillion, leaving N669.49 billion outstanding. The combined billing and collection gap stood at N1.36 trillion.

NERC stated that collection efficiency was 77.60 per cent, while billing efficiency was 81.14 per cent.

The commission added that DisCos received 31,251.77 gigawatt-hours of electricity at trading points but billed customers for only 25,867.86GWh. This gave an energy accounting efficiency of 82.77 per cent. Ibadan DisCo recorded the highest at 88.84 per cent, while Enugu recorded the lowest at 72.18 per cent.

The report also showed a weighted average aggregate technical, commercial and collection loss of 37.03 per cent in 2025. This was 16.49 percentage points above the 20.54 per cent target in the 2025 Multi-Year Tariff Order.

On metering, NERC said Nigeria had 12.16 million registered electricity customers as of December 2025. Only 6.97 million, or 57.27 per cent, were metered, leaving a gap of 5.20 million customers. DisCos installed 972,040 meters during the year.

The regulator also reported that the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company issued gross invoices of N1.72 trillion to DisCos for energy and services, but only N1.632 trillion was remitted. This left a market shortfall of N89.58 billion.

The Federal Government incurred a subsidy obligation of N1.93 trillion in…