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DisCos collected ₦603.64bn from customers in Q2 2026, recovering 81.06 percent of the ₦744.67bn billed.
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Average electricity offtake fell 3.40 percent to 3,197.03MWh/h, despite 94.07 percent of available contracted capacity being utilised.
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Aggregate technical, commercial and collection losses improved to 36.23 percent but remained more than 19 percentage points above the MYTO target.
October 05, (THEWILL) – Electricity distribution companies (DisCos) generated ₦603.64 billion from customers in the second quarter of 2026, even as the volume of electricity supplied to them through the power market declined by 3.40 percent compared with the preceding quarter.
The figure was disclosed in the latest quarterly report of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), which showed that average energy offtake by the DisCos at their trading points fell to 3,197.03 megawatt-hours per hour (MWh/h) in Q2 from 3,309.48MWh/h in Q1.
The 112.45 MWh/h decline came despite the DisCos recording an overall offtake performance of 94.07 percent during the quarter against available partially contracted capacity of 3,398.41 MWh/h.
DisCos Billed ₦744.67bn But Collected ₦603.64bn
According to NERC, the 11 DisCos received a combined 6,982.32 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity during the quarter but billed customers for only 5,812.31GWh.
The regulator said this represented an energy accounting efficiency of 83.24 percent, down slightly by 0.24 percentage points from the 83.48 percent recorded in Q1.
In monetary terms, the value of electricity off-taken by the DisCos stood at ₦946.57 billion, while the total value of energy billed to customers was ₦744.67 billion.
This translated into a billing efficiency of 78.67 percent, representing a 0.57 percentage-point decline from the 79.24 percent recorded in Q1.
However, collection performance improved during the quarter. The DisCos recovered ₦603.64 billion from the ₦744.67 billion billed to customers, translating into a collection efficiency of 81.06 percent.
NERC said the collection efficiency improved by 2.11 percentage points from the 78.95 percent recorded in Q1.
Despite the improvement, the gap between the amount billed and the amount actually collected stood at ₦141.03 billion during the quarter.
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ATC&C Losses Remain Above Regulatory Target
The financial performance of the DisCos was also constrained by high Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses, which remained significantly above the levels prescribed under the regulatory framework.
NERC said the weighted average ATC&C loss across the 11 DisCos stood at 36.23 percent in Q2, although this represented a 1.21 percentage-point improvement from the 37.44 percent recorded in Q1.
Despite the improvement, the sector’s losses remained 19.31 percentage points above the 16.92 percent target under the 2026 MYTO.
NERC estimated that the excess losses translated into a cumulative revenue loss of N129.07bn across the DisCos during the quarter.
All 11 DisCos failed to meet their respective ATC&C targets in Q2, according to the regulator.
“Kaduna DisCo recorded the worst underperformance relative to the target (Actual – 67.70 percent vs target – 18.18 percent)”, the report stated.
The performance highlights the continued challenge of converting electricity supplied into billable and collectible revenue, despite the improvement recorded in collection efficiency.
DisCos Remit ₦385.44bn To Power Market
On their market obligations, NERC said the cumulative upstream invoice payable by the DisCos stood at ₦410.38 billion during the quarter.
The amount comprised ₦326.46 billion in generation costs owed to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) and ₦83.92 billion for transmission and administrative services provided by the market operator.
The DisCos collectively remitted ₦385.44 billion, comprising ₦306.62 billion to NBET and ₦78.82 billion to the market operator.
This left an outstanding balance of ₦24.94 billion and represented a market remittance performance of 93.92 percent, slightly below the 94.08 percent recorded in Q1.
The report also disclosed that the Federal Government assumed about 50 percent, or ₦321.26 billion, of the total generation costs through subsidies arising from the continued freezing of end-user electricity tariffs at the rates applicable in July 2024.
Meanwhile, three international bilateral customers purchasing electricity from grid-connected generating companies paid $8.67 million against an $18.84 million invoice issued by the market operator during the quarter.
This represented a remittance rate of 46.02 percent.
Domestic bilateral customers performed better, paying ₦6.91 billion against an invoice of ₦7.55 billion, representing a remittance rate of 91.54 percent.
