The 11 Power Distribution Companies known as Discos experienced a significant revenue shortfall of N159.33bn in the third quarter of 2024, a report from the Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC) has revealed.
The breakdown of the report, which is tagged: “Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission Q3 Report’’, and posted on its website, stated that during the period under review, DisCos collected a total of ₦466.69bn in revenue from customers, out of the ₦626.02bn billed.
This represents a collection efficiency of 74.55 per cent a decline of 4.76 percentage points from the 79.31 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2024.
“The total revenue collected by all DisCos in 2024/Q3 was ₦466.69bn out of ₦626.02bn billed to customers. This translates to a collection efficiency of 74.55 per cent, representing a decrease of -4.76pp compared to 2024/Q2 (79.31 per cent)’’, the report stated.
Also, during the period under review, the Federal Government issued 50 new licences in the power sector as part of its ongoing efforts to boost competition and expand access to electricity.
The licences, granted by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), cover various areas including power generation, distribution, and renewable energy projects.
“The Commission issued fifty (50) licences, permits and certifications in 2024/Q3. They include: Six (6) new off-grid generation licences with a total nameplate capacity of 30.06MW. One (1) on-grid generation licence renewal (gross capacity of 39MW).
“Two (2) new electricity trading licences. Eleven (11) captive generation permits with a gross capacity of 63.36MW. One (1) registration certificate for mini-grid. Seven (7) certifications for Meter Service Providers and twenty-two (22) permits for Meter Asset Providers’’, the report stated.
However, despite the revenue challenges, the third quarter of 2024 witnessed a significant increase in meter installations across the country.
A total of 184,507 meters were installed during the quarter, marking an impressive 256.01 0er cent increase compared to the 51,826 meters installed in the second quarter.
This surge in installations has raised the net end-user metering rate in Nigeria’s electricity supply industry (NESI) by 0.72 percentage points, from 45.43 per cent in Q2 to 46.15% in Q3.
“A total of 184,507 meters were installed in 2024/Q3, representing an increase of +256.01 per cent compared to the 51,826 meters installed in 2024/Q2. The new installations increased the net end-user metering rate in the NESI by +0.72pp between 2024/Q2 (45.43 per cent) and 2024/Q3 (46.15 per cent).
“During the quarter, 178,715 meters (96.86 per cent of the total installations) were installed under the MAP framework, 3,508 meters were installed under the Vendor Financed framework and 2,298 meters were installed under the DisCo Financed framework’’, the report stated further.