Precious Anga
Lagos — Electricity consumers across Nigeria paid about ₦1.2tn to the 11 electricity distribution companies, or DisCos, in the first six months of 2026, according to data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
The collections, based on NERC’s monthly commercial performance reports, stood at ₦204.75bn in January, ₦196.68bn in February, ₦196.13bn in March, N203.61bn in April, ₦208.15bn in May and ₦191.68bn in June. May recorded the highest monthly collection, while June posted the lowest.
The June collection represented a 7.9 per cent decline, or about ₦16.47bn, from the ₦208.15bn recorded in May, highlighting the continuing gap between electricity billed to consumers and revenue actually recovered by the DisCos.
NERC’s June 2026 factsheet showed that the DisCos received 315.73 billion kWh during the month and billed 240.71 billion kWh, translating to a billing efficiency of 76.24 per cent. Actual revenue collection stood at ₦191.86bn against ₦240.71bn billed, leaving a collection gap of ₦48.85bn and a collection efficiency of 79.71 per cent.
The commission also reported an allowed average tariff of ₦130.15 per kWh against an actual average collection of ₦96.63 per kWh. This translated to a recovery efficiency of 74.24 per cent, down 3.07 percentage points from May.
Performance varied sharply across the distribution companies. Eko Disco recorded the highest revenue recovery efficiency at 87.04 per cent, followed by Port Harcourt at 86.33 per cent, Benin at 82.23 per cent and Ikeja at 80.08 per cent. Kaduna recorded the lowest at 37.03 per cent, followed by Kano at 44.04 per cent and Jos at 51.33 per cent.
On collection efficiency, Benin led with 94 per cent, followed by Ikeja at 89 per cent and Eko at 88.64 per cent, while Kano and Kaduna recorded the weakest performances at 42.16 per cent and 46.13 per cent respectively.
