Customers on estimated billing up by 10,000 despite increased metering

The number of electricity consumers on estimated billing rose marginally in the second quarter of this year despite the increased deployment of prepaid meters by distribution companies.

According to the latest data from the National Bureaucratic of Statistics (NBS), the number of electricity consumers without prepaid meters rose by at least 10,000, as consumers depended on estimated bills.

Estimated billing remains an issue in the energy sector. However, despite the complaints from electricity consumers on the unreliability of supply from the grid, as well as high estimated bills for the energy consumed, the bills rose marginally in the second quarter of this year.

Specifically, metered customers stood at 4.79 million in Q1 2022 and 4.96 million in Q2 2022, indicating a 3.53 per cent increase on a quarter-on-quarter basis. However, on a year-on-year basis, there were growth rates of 10.71 per cent and 9.54 per cent in Q1 and Q2 2022 respectively when compared to 4.33 million recorded in Q1 2021 and 4.53 million in Q2 2021.

Similarly, estimated billing customers stood at 5.84 million in Q1 2022 and 5.85 million in Q2 2022, showing an increase of 0.14 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis. On a year-on-year basis, estimated customers declined by 9.45 per cent in Q1 2022, and 10.45 per cent in Q2 2022 when compared to 6.45 million in Q1 2021 and 6.53 million in Q2 2021.

Electricity supply in Q1 2022 stood at 5,956 (Gwh) and 5,227 (Gwh) in Q2 2022, showing a decline of 12.23 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis, Nevertheless, on a year-on-year basis, electricity supply declined compared to 6,172.19 (Gwh) and 5,882.57 (Gwh) reported in Q1 2021 and Q2 2021 respectively. Revenue generation by the DISCOs stood at 204.74 billion in Q1 2022 and 188.41 billion in Q2 2022. This shows a fall on a quarter-on-quarter basis of 7.97 per cent. On a year-on-year basis, revenue collected rose by 11.42 per cent and 1.71 per cent respectively from 183.74 billion Q1 2021 and 185.24 billion in Q2 2021.