The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has disclosed that electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) achieved 86 per cent billing efficiency for the month of September 2025.
The commission made this known in its latest Commercial Performance Factsheet released by NERC.
According to the report which provides details of how DisCos managed energy billing, cash collection, and overall financial efficiency, and key indicators that shape liquidity and service delivery across the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), in September, DisCos received energy valued at N279.45 billion, out of which N241.54 billion was successfully billed to customers.
This translated to a billing efficiency of 86.43 per cent, representing an improvement of 2.58 per cent compared to August.
The NERC noted that this upward movement reflects improved metering penetration, better energy accounting, and more aggressive billing verification practices adopted by top-performing DisCos.
The report further showed that DisCos also recorded stronger cash recovery performance. Out of the N241.54 billion billed, the report shows, they collected N196.26 billion, marking a 2.69% increase compared to the previous month.
This pushed collection efficiency to 81.25 per cent, up by 1.18 per cent, indicating that more customers are paying their electricity bills promptly, a trend crucial for reducing the sector’s longstanding liquidity constraints.
The NERC further reported that with an approved average tariff of N116.34/kWh, the actual average collection stood at N97.09/kWh, leading to a revenue recovery efficiency of 83.45 per cent.
This represents a 3.67 per cent rise, underscoring DisCos’ increased effectiveness in converting billed energy into actual cash, despite lingering challenges around energy theft, meter bypass, poor infrastructure, and customer dissatisfaction.
The factsheet also ranked Eko, Ikeja, and Abuja DisCos among the top performers in metering coverage nationwide. However, NERC’s breakdown shows uneven performance across the 11 distribution companies:
Eko, Abuja, and Ikeja DisCos continued to rank among the best performers, maintaining high billing and collection efficiency with strong administrative processes and customer service systems.
Aba DisCo stood out with an impressive 102.85 per cent billing efficiency, driven largely by improved energy optimisation and efforts to reconcile legacy energy receivables.
Benin, Port Harcourt, and Kano DisCos delivered moderate performance levels but still lag behind the industry’s top tier.
Jos, Kaduna, and Yola DisCos performed below the sector average, with persistent operational challenges, limited metering coverage, and high collection losses affecting their standings.
Earlier this month, NERC announced that the total number of active customers across all eleven DisCos increased from 11.89 million in July to 11.96 million in August 2025.
NERC stated that the improved metering figures reflect ongoing reforms and investments in customer management by DisCos, aimed at enhancing billing transparency and consumer trust.
