Nigeria DisCos Revenue Recovery Drops to 69.16% in January 2026

Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies (DisCos) saw a decline in revenue recovery efficiency in January 2026, despite stricter loss reduction targets set by the regulator. According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the average revenue recovery efficiency across DisCos dropped to 69.16 per cent in January 2026, down from 72.31 per cent in 2025, marking a 3.15 percentage point decline.

The drop occurred even as NERC reduced the Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) loss targets for 2026, aiming to spur improved performance following investments by the companies in 2025. The average ATC&C loss target was lowered from 20.54 per cent in 2025 to 16.92 per cent in January 2026, a decrease of 3.62 percentage points. However, DisCos posted weaker revenue collection than allowed under the tariff structure.

NERC attributed the decline in January performance to the enforcement of the newly approved loss benchmarks. While the average allowed tariff stood at ₦124.30 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), DisCos realised only ₦85.97/kWh in actual collections, highlighting a significant gap between expected and realised revenues.

Among individual operators, Eko DisCo recorded the highest recovery efficiency at 87.92 per cent, though still below its 2025 performance. Ikeja DisCo followed with 81.64 per cent, while Abuja DisCo posted 75.02 per cent, also declining year-on-year. At the lower end, Kaduna DisCo recorded 36.29 per cent, one of the weakest performances. Jos DisCo followed at 43.54 per cent. Yola DisCo saw a sharp drop to 55.42 per cent, representing the largest negative variance of 14.85 percentage points.

Further breakdown shows systemic inefficiencies across the value chain. Billing efficiency stood at 79.72 per cent, indicating that about one-fifth of energy received was not billed. Collection efficiency was 76.34 per cent, meaning a significant portion of billed revenue remained uncollected.

In monetary terms, DisCos received electricity worth ₦336.43 billion, billed ₦268.20 billion, and collected only ₦204.74 billion. This translates to a substantial revenue shortfall, worsening liquidity challenges in the sector.

The figures underscore persistent structural issues in Nigeria’s power distribution segment, including energy losses, weak metering, and poor revenue collection. Despite regulatory efforts to tighten performance benchmarks, the latest data suggests that DisCos are yet to translate investments and reforms into measurable efficiency gains. Experts warn that sustained underperformance could continue to strain the entire electricity value chain, affecting generation, transmission, and ultimately power supply to consumers. The regulator is expected to intensify oversight and enforce compliance as part of ongoing reforms aimed at improving the financial viability of the sector.