Nigeria’s 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) recorded a combined electricity billing and collection gap of about ₦128.41 billion in July 2026, highlighting continuing revenue challenges across the power distribution market.
According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in its July 2026 Commercial Performance of Distribution Companies report released on September 24, 2026, the DisCos received electricity valued at ₦333.94 billion during the month but billed customers for only ₦250.79 billion.
This left ₦83.15 billion worth of electricity unbilled, representing a billing efficiency of 75.1%, according to the regulator.
The DisCos also struggled to convert billed electricity into actual revenue. NERC said they collected ₦205.53 billion from the ₦250.79 billion billed during July, leaving ₦45.26 billion in billed electricity unpaid.
This put the sector’s collection efficiency at 81.95% for the month.
Combined, the unbilled electricity and unpaid billed electricity amounted to about ₦128.41 billion, showing that a substantial portion of electricity entering the distribution system did not translate into corresponding revenue for the DisCos.
The performance varied across the distribution companies. NERC reported that Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) recorded an ₦8.34 billion collection gap, while Kano DisCo recorded a ₦7.4 billion gap and Kaduna DisCo recorded a ₦5.24 billion gap.
On billing efficiency, Kano DisCo recorded the highest performance at 85.37%, followed by Port Harcourt DisCo at 82.34% and Eko DisCo at 78.63%. Yola DisCo recorded the lowest billing efficiency at 61.55%, according to NERC’s July report.
The figures underline the financial pressure created by electricity losses, incomplete billing and weak collection across the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
The revenue challenge is not limited to July. NERC’s 2025 Annual Report, published in 2026, showed that the DisCos billed ₦2.99 trillion during 2025 but collected ₦2.32 trillion, leaving about ₦669.49 billion uncollected during the year.
The persistent gap between electricity supplied, electricity billed and cash ultimately collected remains a major issue for the financial sustainability of the power market, as DisCos depend on customer payments to meet obligations across the electricity value chain.
