Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in Nigeria collectively remitted ₦378.93 billion from a total payable invoice of ₦408.86 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, leaving an outstanding balance of ₦29.92 billion.
This was disclosed in the Fourth Quarter Report released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
According to the report, the total upstream invoice payable by DisCos in Q4 2024 amounted to ₦408.86 billion. This comprised ₦360.97 billion for DRO-adjusted generation costs from the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) and ₦47.89 billion for transmission and administrative services provided by the Market Operator (MO).
The report highlights ongoing challenges in the sector, including liquidity constraints and revenue shortfalls, which continue to impact DisCos’ ability to meet full financial obligations.
“Out of this amount, the DisCos collectively remitted a total sum of ₦378.93 billion (₦336.63 billion for NBET and ₦42.30 billion for MO) with an outstanding balance of ₦29.92 billion.
“This translates to a remittance performance of 92.68% in 2024/Q4 compared to the 83.77% recorded in 2024/Q3,” the report said.
It also disclosed that in the period, the six (6) international bilateral customers purchasing power from the grid-connected GenCos made a cumulative payment of $5.21 million against the $14.05 million invoice issued to them by the MO for services rendered in 2024/Q4.
Similarly, it said, the domestic bilateral customers made a cumulative payment of ₦1,252.58 million against the ₦1,977.02 million invoice issued to them by the MO for services rendered in 2024/Q4 3.
The report said, in 2024/Q4, the average energy offtake by DisCos at their trading points was 3,360.77 MWh/h out of the available PCC of 3,552.26 MWh/h, translating to an overall offtake performance of 94.61%.
The energy offtake during the quarter (3,360.77 MWh/h) represents a decrease of 84.36 MWh/h (-2.45%) compared to the 3,445.13 MWh/h recorded in 2024/Q3.
It said the total energy received by all DisCos in 2024/Q4 was 7,420.58 GWh, while the energy billed to end-use customers was 6,207.84 GWh, translating into an overall billing efficiency of 83.66%.
“This represents a +1.51pp increase in billing efficiency relative to the 82.15% recorded in 2024/Q3. c. Collection Efficiency: The total revenue collected by all DisCos in 2024/Q4 was ₦509.84 billion out of ₦658.40 billion billed to customers. This translates to a collection efficiency of 77.44%, representing an increase of +2.89 pp compared to 2024/Q3 (74.55%),’’ the report added.
According to the report, the aggregate technical, commercial, and collection (ATC&C) loss across all the DisCos in 2024/Q4 was 35.22%, comprising technical and commercial loss (16.34%) and collection loss (22.56%).
‘The ATC&C loss of 35.22% was +10.44pp higher than the MYTO target (24.78%), translating to a cumulative revenue loss of ₦139.08 billion across all DisCos. The ATC&C loss decreased by -3.88pp (improved performance) compared to 2024/Q3 (39.10%).
‘’Yola and Eko DisCos achieved their target ATC&C, as provided in the MYTO during the quarter. The other DisCos failed to achieve their target ATC&C, with Kaduna DisCo recording the worst underperformance relative to the target ATC&C (actual: 60.65% vs. target: 25.00%),’’ the report disclosed.
On available power generation in the country, the report said in 2024/Q4, there were twenty-eight (28) grid-connected power plants consisting of nineteen (19) gas, five (5) hydro, two (2) steam, and two (2) gas/steam-powered plants.
It said that for this quarter, the average available generation capacity of the grid-connected power plants was 5,296.89 MW, adding that the average available generation capacity across the grid-connected plants increased by 195.98 MW (+3.84%) from the 5,100.90 MW recorded in 2024/Q3 to 5,296.89 MW in 2024/Q4 .
‘’Fifteen (15) power plants recorded increased available generation capacities in 2024/Q4 compared to 2024/Q3.”
‘’The average hourly generation on the grid in 2024/Q4 was 4,207.41MWh/h, which translates to a total generation of 9,289.95GWh. The average hourly generation of grid-connected power plants decreased by 72.83MWh/h (-1.70%) from 4,280.24MWh/h in 2024/Q3.
“The total electricity generated in the quarter also decreased by 160.81 GWh (-1.70%) from 9,450.76 GWh in 2024/Q3 to 9,289.95 GWh. The decrease in generation during the quarter was primarily due to the decrease in energy offtake by the grid-connected customers (including DisCos) compared to 2024/Q3.’’
On grid performance, it said, in 2024/Q4, the average lower daily (49.39Hz) and average upper daily (50.91Hz) system frequencies were outside the normal operating limits (49.75Hz–50.25Hz) but remained within the lower and higher bound stress limits (48.75Hz–51.25Hz).
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