KEY POINTS
- Nigeria’s 11 distribution companies collected N204.74 billion against N268.2 billion billed in January 2026.
- The N63.46 billion revenue gap reflects a collection efficiency of just 76.34 percent across the sector.
- Tighter ATC&C loss targets set by NERC for 2026 are exposing deep structural gaps in the system.
Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies billed customers N268.2 billion in January 2026. They collected N204.74 billion. The gap between those two numbers is N63.46 billion, and it tells a familiar story about what is still broken in the country’s power sector.
Data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission shows that distribution companies recovered just 76.34 percent of what they billed. The problem started even earlier in the chain. Of the total electricity value that distributors received, worth N336.43 billion, only N268.2 billion was actually invoiced to customers. That billing efficiency rate of 79.72 percent means over N131 billion worth of electricity was simply never converted into revenue.
Where the money went and where it didn’t
Ikeja Electric posted the highest collection at N38.8 billion. Abuja and Eko distribution companies each recorded N35.88 billion. At the other end, Yola DisCo brought in just N4.55 billion. Kaduna Electric collected N10.04 billion and Jos DisCo collected N13.09 billion.
The figures reflect a pattern that has persisted across the sector for years. Metering gaps, energy theft, estimated billing disputes and weak payment compliance all drag collection rates down. Chijoke James, chairman of the Electricity Consumers Association of Nigeria, pointed directly at unmetered customers as a core driver of the problem. “Customers who bore the brunt of inefficiencies are those without meters. They continued to pay for services not rendered,” he said, adding that distribution companies have resisted full metering rollout for this reason.
Tighter targets, same old problems
NERC tightened its loss reduction requirements coming into 2026. The regulator cut the industry average Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection loss target to 16.92 percent, down from 20.54 percent in 2025. The regulator said the revised targets reflect expected gains from investments made by distribution companies in 2025.
Yola DisCo received the largest target reduction, with its allowable loss rate cut from 44 percent to 29 percent. Jos, Kano and Port Harcourt distribution companies also saw notable reductions.
But the January data shows the tighter benchmarks are exposing gaps rather than closing them. The commission acknowledged that the drop in recovery efficiency is partly a direct consequence of applying the new, stricter targets. The sector is being held to a higher standard. It is not meeting it yet.
