Nigeria’s Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) generated nearly N600 billion in revenue during the first quarter of 2026, despite ongoing power outages that left millions of households and businesses grappling with unreliable electricity supply. Fresh data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) revealed that the 11 distribution companies collectively earned N597.55 billion between January and March, highlighting the sector’s ability to maintain significant revenue generation amid persistent operational challenges.
According to NERC’s commercial performance reports, the DisCos collected N204.74 billion in January, N196.68 billion in February, and N196.13 billion in March, averaging roughly N199.18 billion monthly. While the figures underscore strong revenue inflows, they also reveal substantial gaps between billed and collected revenue. In January alone, the companies failed to recover over N63 billion, while February and March recorded uncollected revenues of N45.61 billion and N50.30 billion, respectively.
The reports further exposed varying levels of efficiency among the distribution companies. Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC) and Ikeja Electric emerged as some of the strongest performers in revenue recovery, with Eko DisCo recording an impressive recovery efficiency of more than 100 percent in February. However, several others struggled to improve collections. Kaduna DisCo, for example, posted one of the weakest performances during the period, recording a recovery efficiency of just 41.2 percent in February, reflecting the challenges facing operators in some regions.
Despite the revenue gains, consumers across the country continued to express dissatisfaction with the quality of electricity service. The first quarter of 2026 was marked by severe power shortages triggered largely by inadequate gas supply to thermal power plants. Industry data showed that while power stations required approximately 1.63 billion standard cubic feet of gas daily to operate optimally, actual supply as of February stood at less than 43 percent of that demand. The shortfall forced several generating plants offline, leading the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to implement widespread load shedding across the country.
Stakeholders believe that addressing the sector’s long-standing challenges—including poor metering, energy theft, infrastructure deficits, and liquidity constraints—will be critical to improving performance and customer satisfaction. While electricity distributors have repeatedly blamed outages on gas shortages and generation constraints, many Nigerians argue that higher tariffs should translate into better service delivery. Nonetheless, there have been reports of modest improvements in electricity supply in recent weeks, offering a glimmer of hope for consumers and businesses that depend heavily on stable power to drive economic activities.
source: punch