Nigeria's electricity distribution companies (DisCos) recorded a significant revenue shortfall in February 2026, with over N45.61 billion in billed energy yet to be recovered, underscoring persistent inefficiencies in the commercial segment of the power sector.
This is contained in the latest Commercial Performance Factsheet released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), which shows that out of N242.29 billion billed to customers during the month, only N196.68 billion was collected, translating to a collection efficiency of 81.17 percent.
The data highlights a continuing gap between energy delivered, billed and realised revenue, raising concerns over liquidity constraints that have long plagued the power value chain.
Further breakdown shows that although total energy received by DisCos stood at N277.09 billion, only N242.29 billion was billed, reflecting a billing efficiency of 87.44 percent. This indicates that about N34.8 billion value supplied within the period was not billed.
While billing efficiency improved by 7.72 percentage points compared to January 2026, and collection efficiency rose by 4.84 percentage points, the gains were insufficient to close the widening revenue leakage.
On revenue recovery performance, DisCos recorded an average recovery efficiency of 80.67 percent as against an allowed average tariff of N124.30/kWh and an actual average collection of N100.27/kWh. This suggests that a significant portion of the approved tariff is still not being realised, further straining the sector's financial viability.
Eko DisCo emerged as the only utility to exceed its allowed tariff benchmark, recording a recovery efficiency of 100.67 percent, with an actual average collection of N126.64/kWh against an allowed tariff of N125.8/kWh. Abuja DisCo also recorded a strong performance with a recovery efficiency of 95.13 percent.
In contrast, Kaduna DisCo recorded the weakest recovery performance at just 41.20 percent, with an actual collection of N50.18/kWh compared to an allowed N121.8/kWh. Ibadan DisCo followed with a recovery efficiency of 64.21 percent, while Jos DisCo posted 66.29 percent.
Collection efficiency also varied significantly across the companies. Eko DisCo led with 94.12 percent, followed by Abuja at 89.28 percent and Benin at 86.95 percent. However, Kaduna DisCo again ranked lowest, recording just 49.27 percent collection efficiency, indicating that more than half of its billed revenue was not recovered.
Similarly, billing efficiency showed uneven performance across the network as Kano DisCo recorded the highest billing efficiency at 99.04 percent, closely followed by Eko at 97.2 percent and Abuja at 93.7 percent. On the lower end, Yola DisCo posted the weakest billing efficiency at 66.09 percent, suggesting substantial energy losses before billing.
Despite incremental improvements in key metrics, the persistent shortfall between energy supplied, billed, and collected continues to undermine the financial sustainability of the sector.
