The Federal Government paid over ₦633.30 billion in electricity subsidies in the first quarter of 2024, findings have shown.
According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s quarterly report, this amount represents a 150.5% increase from ₦252.76 billion in Q4 2023.
The amount paid in the first three months of the year is higher than the ₦628.61 billion spent from January to December 2023.
A breakdown of the ₦633.30 billion showed that subsidies amounted to ₦36.02 billion in Q1, ₦135.23 billion in Q2, ₦204.6 billion in Q3, and ₦252.76 billion in Q4 of 2023.
The electricity market regulator attributed the increase to the government’s policy to harmonize exchange rates and the absence of cost-reflective tariffs across all electricity distribution companies.
“It is important to note that due to the absence of cost-reflective tariffs across all DisCos, the Government incurred a subsidy obligation of ₦633.30 billion in 2024/Q1, an average of ₦211.10 billion per month.”
Regarding revenue collection, the report indicated that DisCos recorded a shortfall, with total revenue at ₦291.62 billion out of ₦368.65 billion billed to customers.
The total energy received by all DisCos was 7,171.93 GWh, while the energy billed to end-use customers was 5,769.52 GWh, resulting in an overall billing efficiency of 80.45%.
Ikeja DisCo collected the highest revenue (₦57.88 billion) in the period, followed by Eko DisCo at ₦48.74 billion. Yola DisCo collected the least revenue at ₦5.46 billion.
Other revenue collections in the period include:
- Abuja DisCo: ₦48.60 billion
- Ibadan DisCo: ₦30.35 billion
- Benin DisCo: ₦22.46 billion
- Enugu DisCo: ₦21.24 billion
- Port Harcourt DisCo: ₦20.39 billion
- Kano DisCo: ₦13.62 billion
- Jos DisCo: ₦13.29 billion