The electricity distribution companies (DisCos) recorded a significant revenue shortfall in February 2026, with over N45.61 billion in billed energy yet to be recovered, underscoring persistent inefficiencies in the commercial segment of the power sector.

This is contained in the latest Commercial Performance Factsheet released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), which shows that out of N242.29 billion billed to customers during the month, only N196.68 billion was collected, translating to a collection efficiency of 81.17 per cent.

The data highlights a continuing gap between energy delivered, billed and realised revenue, raising concerns over liquidity constraints that have long plagued the power value chain.

Further breakdown shows that although total energy received by DisCos stood at N277.09 billion, only N242.29 billion was billed, reflecting a billing efficiency of 87.44 per cent. This indicates that about N34.8 billion value supplied within the period was not billed.

While billing efficiency improved by 7.72 percentage points compared to January 2026, and collection efficiency rose by 4.84 percentage points, the gains were insufficient to close the widening revenue leakage.

On revenue recovery performance, DisCos recorded an average recovery efficiency of 80.67 per cent as against an allowed average tariff of N124.30/kWh and an actual average collection of N100.27/kWh.

This suggests that a significant portion of the approved tariff is still not being realised, further straining the sector’s financial viability.

Eko DisCo emerged as the only utility to exceed its allowed tariff benchmark, recording a recovery efficiency of 100.67 per cent, with an actual average collection of N126.64/kWh against an allowed tariff of N125.8/kWh. Abuja DisCo also recorded a strong performance with a recovery efficiency of 95.13 per cent.

In contrast, Kaduna DisCo recorded the weakest recovery performance at just 41.20 per cent, with an actual collection of N50.18/kWh compared to an allowed N121.8/kWh. Ibadan DisCo followed with a recovery efficiency of 64.21 per cent, while Jos DisCo posted 66.29 per cent.

Collection efficiency also varied significantly across the companies. Eko DisCo led with 94.12 per cent, followed by Abuja at 89.28 per cent and Benin at 86.95 per cent. However, Kaduna DisCo again ranked lowest, recording just 49.27 per cent collection efficiency, indicating that more than half of its billed revenue was not recovered.

Similarly, billing efficiency showed uneven performance across the network as Kano DisCo recorded the highest billing efficiency at 99.04 per cent, closely followed by Eko at 97.2 per cent and Abuja at 93.7 per cent. On the lower end, Yola DisCo posted the weakest billing efficiency at 66.09 per cent, suggesting substantial energy losses before billing.

Despite incremental improvements in key metrics, the persistent shortfall between energy supplied, billed, and collected continues to undermine the financial sustainability of the sector.