Nigerian electricity consumers paid a total of N509.84bn in the fourth quarter of 2024 despite enduring five grid collapses within the same period.
In 2024/Q4, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission reported that the national system experienced three instances of complete breakdown and two instances of partial collapse.
In comparison to the N466.69 billion collected in the third quarter of 2024, NERC reported that the energy distribution firms generated N509.84 billion in the final three months of 2024.
According to the report, the total revenue collected by all discos in 2024/Q3 was N466.69 billion, out of the N626.02 billion that customers were billed. This means that the 2024/Q4 collection efficiency of 77.44 per cent is +2.89 points higher than the 2024/Q3 collection efficiency.
Even if five of the 12 grid collapses that happened in 2024 occurred during the quarter, the money was still generated.
The national power grid is a huge network of electrical transmission lines that connect power plants to end-user consumers all over the country, according to NERC. It is made to operate within certain stability bounds, such as voltage (330 kV, 5.0%) and frequency (50 Hz, 1.0%).
Any departure from these stability limits can lead to a reduction in power quality and, in extreme situations, extensive power outages that can cover the entire system or just a portion of it.
“There were three incidents of total collapse and two incidents of partial collapse on the national grid in 2024/Q4,” the report stated.
“The partial collapses occurred on October 14 and November 5, 2024, while the total collapses occurred on October 19, November 7, and December 11, 2024, respectively.”
It was stated that when the electricity demand exceeds the supply, the frequency of the grid decreases, and when the supply exceeds the demand, the frequency increases.
In addition to mitigating plans to prevent a repeat of such accidents, it was revealed that the system operator will provide the commission with a comprehensive report that includes the key reasons for the occurrences that caused the system disruptions.
However, consumers were left in the dark by around two partial collapses that happened in the first quarter of 2025.
Eko and Ikeja DisCos achieved the highest collection efficiencies in 2024/Q4 with 90 per cent and 82.3 per cent, respectively, following the same pattern seen in 2024/Q3, according to the NERC data.
Jos Disco, on the other hand, had the lowest collecting efficiency, at 49.68 per cent.
According to a performance comparison, eight discos saw increases in collecting efficiency between 2024/Q3 and 2024/Q4, with Yola (+13.93pp) and Kano (+9.88pp) showing the biggest gains.
The collection efficiency of the remaining three discos, however, decreased over time, with the biggest drops occurring at Jos (-3.61pp) and Abuja (-3.39pp).
Compared to 2024/Q3, the efficiency of billing and collection increased by 1.51 and 2.89 percentage points, respectively, in 2024/Q4. These gains are explained by the lower energy offtake in the quarter as compared to 2024/Q3, according to historical averages, the report stated.
To allocate a larger portion of their energy to regions with fewer billing and collection inefficiencies, DisCos must reduce their energy use.
According to NERC, installing end-use customer metres and accurately enumerating customers are the most effective ways to enhance energy accounting and revenue collection.
It was reminded by the commission that on June 24, 2024/Q2, it issued the order on the operationalisation of Tranche A of the Metre Acquisition Fund, which went into force.
DisCos were instructed by the order, it was reported, to install metres for unmetred Band A consumers in their franchise areas using the first tranche of the MAF scheme’s settlement.
DisCos have metred over 4,000 Band A customers using the MAF scheme as of December 2024. DisCos are expected to continue using the MAF in addition to any of the metering frameworks outlined in the NERC MAP and NMMP metering regulation (2021) in order to enhance end-use customer metering in respective franchise territories.
“This will improve the flow of funds to upstream market participants in the Nigerian electricity supply industry by reducing commercial and collection losses,” the report added.
