DisCos Collect ₦205bn as ₦83bn Power Billing Gap Persists

Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies collected ₦205.53 billion from customers in July, but the sector still left more than ₦83 billion worth of received electricity outside the billing system, highlighting the commercial gap between power entering the distribution network and revenue that can be recovered from consumers.

The figures from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission show that the 11 DisCos received electricity valued at ₦333.94 billion during the month but billed customers for only ₦250.79 billion. That produced a billing efficiency of 75.10 per cent and a gap of ₦83.15 billion.

More Money Was Collected, But the Gap Remains

The ₦205.53 billion collected in July represents a 7.12 per cent increase from June, while collection efficiency improved to 81.95 per cent from the previous month.

That improvement matters for the financial position of the distribution companies, but it does not eliminate the underlying problem. DisCos can only collect money for electricity that is successfully billed, and July's figures show that roughly one-quarter of the monetary value of energy received was not captured through billing.

The industry therefore continues to face two separate commercial challenges: converting electricity supplied into accurate bills, and converting those bills into actual cash.

The Real Problem Starts Before Collection

July's numbers also show why looking only at revenue collections can give an incomplete picture of the power sector.

Of the ₦333.94 billion worth of energy received, ₦250.79 billion was billed. Even before customers had the opportunity to pay, about ₦83.15 billion had already fallen outside the billing process.

This makes metering, energy accounting, network losses and billing systems central to the financial performance of the electricity market. Improving collections alone cannot fully close the gap if a significant amount of supplied electricity is not being translated into bills in the first place.

Performance Remains Uneven Across DisCos

The national figures also conceal significant differences between individual distribution companies.

Eko DisCo recorded the highest revenue recovery efficiency at 94.67 per cent, followed by Port Harcourt DisCo at 84.95 per cent and Benin DisCo at 79.15 per cent.

At the other end of the scale, the northern distribution franchises continued to record weaker commercial performance. Kaduna DisCo's recovery efficiency stood at 39.71 per cent, while Jos DisCo recorded 46.27 per cent.

The wide gap between operators suggests that the industry's commercial problem is not uniform. Network conditions, customer payment behaviour, metering, losses and the quality of collection systems can produce very different results across franchises.

Tariffs Alone Cannot Fix the Revenue Equation

NERC reported an allowed industry average tariff of ₦130.15 per kilowatt-hour in July, compared with an actual average collection rate of ₦97.50 per kilowatt-hour.

That ₦32.65 difference per kilowatt-hour shows another layer of the sector's financial pressure. The amount that can theoretically be recovered under approved tariff structures is not necessarily the amount that ultimately reaches the DisCos as cash.

For the power market, this makes commercial efficiency just as important as tariff policy. Higher tariffs cannot by themselves solve losses, weak billing or poor collection.

The Bigger Business Problem Is Cash Conversion

The July figures reinforce a broader issue facing Nigeria's electricity industry: power has to move through several commercial stages before it becomes sustainable revenue.

Energy must first be received and properly accounted for, customers must then be billed accurately, and the bills must ultimately be paid. Weakness at any point leaves money trapped somewhere in the chain.

That has consequences beyond the DisCos. Persistent commercial gaps can affect the ability of distribution companies to invest in meters, transformers, feeders and network expansion, while also putting pressure on the wider electricity value chain.

NERC's 2025 annual report previously showed that the sector recorded about ₦1.36 trillion in combined billing and collection gaps during the year, indicating that July's ₦83.15 billion billing gap is part of a much larger structural problem.

The Next Test Is Turning Power Into Cash

The July improvement in collections provides a more positive commercial signal, but the larger test is whether DisCos can consistently narrow the distance between electricity received, electricity billed and money collected.

For investors, regulators and power-sector businesses, that conversion rate may ultimately matter as much as the headline revenue figure.

Until more of the electricity entering the distribution network is accurately billed and successfully collected, the sector's revenue growth will continue to sit alongside a substantial commercial leakage problem.