From Victor Osula, Abuja
Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) operating in Nigeria recorded a remittance performance of 95.21 percent in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025, remitting a total sum of ₦381.29 billion to key market operators, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The Commission disclosed this in its Q3 2025 Electricity Industry Report released on Tuesday, which showed that the cumulative upstream invoice payable by DisCos during the quarter stood at ₦400.48 billion. The amount comprised ₦323.70 billion for DisCos’ Remittance Obligation (DRO)-adjusted generation costs payable to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), and ₦76.77 billion for transmission and administrative services rendered by the Market Operator (MO).
NERC said out of the total invoice, DisCos collectively remitted ₦381.29 billion, consisting of ₦308.25 billion paid to NBET and ₦73.03 billion to the MO, leaving an outstanding balance of ₦19.18 billion. The performance, the Commission noted, was slightly lower than the 95.65 percent remittance level recorded in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025.
The report further highlighted improvements in operational efficiency across the electricity distribution segment. Total energy received by all DisCos in Q3 2025 was 7,348.95 gigawatt-hours (GWh), while energy billed to end-use customers stood at 6,158.54GWh. This resulted in an overall energy accounting efficiency of 83.80 percent, representing a 1.37 percentage-point increase from the 82.43 percent recorded in Q2 2025.
In monetary terms, the total energy offtake by DisCos during the quarter was valued at ₦854.53 billion, while energy billed amounted to ₦706.61 billion. This translated to a billing efficiency of 82.69 percent, an improvement of 1.08 percentage points over the 81.61 percent achieved in the preceding quarter. Despite the gains, DisCos recorded aggregate billing losses of ₦147.92 billion in Q3 2025.
On revenue collection, NERC said DisCos collected a total of ₦570.25 billion out of the ₦706.61 billion billed to customers during the quarter. This resulted in a collection efficiency of 80.70 percent, representing a significant increase of 4.63 percentage points compared to the 76.07 percent recorded in Q2 2025.
The report also revealed the performance of bilateral customers. According to NERC, three international bilateral customers purchasing power from grid-connected generation companies made cumulative payments of $7.125 million against the $18.69 million invoice issued to them by the MO for services rendered in Q3 2025, translating to a remittance rate of 38.09 percent.
Domestic bilateral customers, however, recorded a stronger performance, making cumulative payments of ₦3.19 billion against the ₦3.64 billion invoice issued by the MO during the period, representing a remittance rate of 87.61 percent.
NERC said the figures underscore gradual improvements in remittance discipline, billing accuracy and revenue collection across the electricity value chain, even as challenges relating to losses and outstanding obligations continue to confront the sector.
