Victor Ezeja
The total revenue of the 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) in Nigeria declined by 1.13 per cent from N294.95 billion in the fourth quarter (Q4) 2023 to N291.62 billion in first quarter (Q1) 2024.
However, the revenue increased year-on-year by 17.91 per cent when compared to N247.33 billion recorded in Q1 2023.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThis was revealed in the Electricity Report for Q1 2024 released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
According to the report, electricity supply in Nigeria dropped by 10.3 per cent from 6,432.22 Giga watts per hour (Gwh) in Q4 2023 to 5,769.52 Gwh in Q1 2024. On a year-on-year basis, electricity supply decreased by 1.41 per cent compared to 5,851.87 Gwh reported in Q1 2023.
A breakdown of the Q1 2024 figure shows that Ikeja Electric collected the highest revenue of N57.88 billion in the quarter followed by Eko DisCo which had N48.74 billion, Abuja DisCo, N48.60 billion. The three DisCos that recorded the lowest revenue collection in the quarter were Jos (N13.29 billion), Kaduna (N9.60 billion), and Yola (N5.46 billion).
READ ALSO: Nigeria’s Rising Electricity Demand Drives Sector Challenges, Investment Opportunities
Electricity Customers surges 9.47% YoY
According to the NBS report, the total number of electricity customers rose on a year-on-year basis by 9.47 per cent from 11.27 million reported in Q1 2023 to 12.33 million in Q1 2024. When compared on a quarter-on-quarter basis, the number of customers increased by 1.78 per cent from 12.12 million in Q4 2023.
For the number of metered customers, there was an increase of 5.38 per cent from 5.61 million recorded in Q4 2023 to 5.91 million in Q1 2024. “On a year-on-year basis, this grew by 11.26 per cent from the figure reported in Q1 2023 which was 5.31 million,” the report added.
Unmetered customers rise by 60,000 in three months
The report further revealed that the number of metered customers was 5.91 million in Q1 2024, indicating a growth of 5.38 per cent from 5.61 million recorded in the preceding quarter. “On a year-on-year basis, this grew by 11.26 per cent from the figure reported in Q1 2023 which was 5.31 million.
It said that unmetered electricity customers who are on estimated billing increased by 10.22 per cent to 6.43 million in Q1 2024 from 5.83 million in Q4 2023, but on a year-on-year basis, “estimated billing customers increased by 7.88% in Q1 2024 from 5.96 million in Q1 2023.”
Despite effort to reduce arbitrary billing, the number of customers under estimated billing still recorded a surge in the first quarter of 2024 when compared to the preceding quarter. This means that the number of unmetered customers increased by 600,000 in the period.
According to the report, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) recorded the highest number of estimated billing customers with 1.4 million. This is followed by Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) with 765,662. However, Ikeja DisCo recorded the lowest number of estimated billing customers with 219,632.
IBEDC has the highest number of customers (metered and unmetered), surging to 2.48 million in Q1 2024 from 2.42 million in Q4 2023. This is followed by EEDC with 1.39 million customers in Q1 2024 up from 1.32 million in the previous quarter.
The increase in estimated billing customers has indeed aggravated the challenge of collection losses. This can be linked to the drop in revenue by 1.13 per cent from the previous quarter as indicated in the report.
Analysts had averred that one way of boosting liquidity in the electricity sector is by closing the metering gap. They equally submitted that increasing electricity tariff is not the antidote.
READ ALSO: NERC: How DisCos Will Access N21bn Electricity Metering Fund
Recently, the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) announced the approval of N21 billion for electricity DisCos to provide meters for customers on band A feeders. The approval which was disclosed in the NERC’s “Order on the Operationalization of ‘Tranche A’ of the Meter Acquisition Fund” dated 19 June 2024, was aimed at closing the metering gap and among band A customers whose electricity tariff was increased in April.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
