ABUJA — Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies failed to collect about ₦1.36 trillion in expected revenue in 2025.

‎That is according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s 2025 Annual Report released this week.

‎NERC said the 11 DisCos supplied electricity worth about ₦3.68 trillion last year. But they only billed customers for about ₦2.99 trillion. That left ₦694.8 billion in unbilled power.

Of the amount billed, the DisCos collected just ₦2.32 trillion. Another ₦669.49 billion remained unpaid.

That means billing efficiency was 81.14 percent, and collection efficiency was 77.60 percent. In other words, for every ₦100 worth of electricity billed, only about ₦77.60 was recovered.

The report also showed major losses in the system. NERC said the average technical, commercial and collection loss stood at 37.03 percent. That is far above the 20.54 percent target set in the 2025 tariff order.

‎Metering remains a big problem. As of December 2025, Nigeria had 12.16 million registered electricity customers. Only 6.97 million of them, or 57.27 percent, had meters. That left about 5.2 million customers without meters.

The DisCos installed 972,040 meters during the year. Ibadan DisCo installed the most at 180,256. Yola DisCo installed the least at 14,231.

‎Customer complaints were also high. DisCos received 708,699 complaints in 2025. Most were about metering, billing and power outages. NERC’s own complaints unit recorded 8,305 cases.

The cash problem spread to the wholesale market. NERC said NBET and the Market Operator billed DisCos about ₦1.72 trillion in 2025. The DisCos paid back about ₦1.63 trillion. That left a shortfall of ₦89.58 billion.

‎The federal government also spent big to keep the lights on. NERC said the electricity subsidy for 2025 was about ₦1.93 trillion. That is 57.44 percent of NBET’s total bill. This is because customer tariffs are still below cost.

The grid was not stable either. There was a total collapse on September 10, 2025. There was also a partial collapse on December 29 after a fault on the Benin-Onitsha 330kV line.

Despite the problems, NERC said there was more activity in off-grid power. The commission issued 194 licenses and permits in 2025, up from 168 in 2024. These included 64 mini-grid permits, 43 meter service provider approvals, and 31 captive power licenses.

‎NERC said the numbers show one clear point: adding more electricity supply will not fix the sector. Power must also be properly metered, billed, and paid for.

‎The report paints a picture of an industry still struggling with huge revenue gaps, poor metering, and weak collections, despite ongoing reforms.