DisCos Boost Revenue Collection Amidst Plunging Power Supply

The Punch reports on a counterintuitive trend in Nigeria's electricity sector: distribution companies (DisCos) managed to boost their revenue collection and billing efficiency in February 2026, even as the overall supply of electricity plummeted. This data, released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), paints a complex picture of the nation's power challenges.

Despite a nearly 18% drop in the total energy received by the 11 DisCos compared to the previous month, and a decline in energy bills issued, the companies demonstrated a stronger ability to bill customers for the power they did receive. Billing efficiency climbed from 79.72% in January to 87.44% in February. More impressively, collection efficiency—the actual cash recovered from customers—rose from 76.34% to 81.17%, indicating a more effective recovery process despite the reduced supply.

The NERC report highlights significant performance gains across various DisCos. Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, for instance, saw its billing efficiency jump to 93.70% and collection efficiency to 89.28%. Eko DisCo recorded exceptional recovery efficiency at 100.67%, suggesting they collected even more than their target. However, the report also points to persistent issues, with Kaduna DisCo showing the lowest revenue recovery rate at just 41.20%. This mixed performance underscores the ongoing efforts and challenges within Nigeria's electricity distribution network, where improved operational efficiency is being pursued even amidst supply constraints.