This is according to findings by SaharaReporters from the last four quarterly reports published by the Nigeria electricity Regulatory commission.
The 11 distribution companies in Nigeria failed to collect N237.38bn worth of revenue from customers between the third quarter of 2019 and the fourth quarter of 2018.
This is according to findings by SaharaReporters from the last four quarterly reports published by the Nigeria electricity Regulatory commission.
The commission noted that Eko and Ikeja Electricity Distribution Companies had the highest collection rates within the four quarters.
In the third quarter of 2019, “The total revenue collected by 11 DisCos from customers in the third quarter of 2019 stood at ₦117.74bn out of the total billing of ₦170.28bn.
“Despite the increase in the billing efficiency recorded in 2019/Q3 relative to the preceding quarter, the total revenue collected as a ratio of the total billing by DisCos (i.e., collection efficiency) in 2019/Q3 slightly decreased when compared to 2019/Q2.
“The overall collection efficiency for all DisCos decreased to 68.99 per cent in the third quarter of 2019 representing a 0.86 percentage point decrease from the 69.10 per cent collection efficiency recorded in 2019/Q2.
“The collection efficiency implies that for every ₦10.00 worth of energy billed to customers by DisCos in the third quarter, ₦3.10 remained unrecovered from customers as and when due.
“Further to its decline from the preceding quarter, the collection efficiency by the DisCos is low and has continued to adversely impact the financial liquidity of the industry, which in turn, has led to low investment in NESI. This was a loss of N55.54bn.”
In the second quarter of 2019, NERC said, “The total revenue collected by 11 DisCos from customers in the second quarter of 2019 stood at ₦121.32bn out of the total billing of ₦186.08bn.
“Following the increase in billing efficiency recorded in 2019/Q2 relative to the preceding quarter, there was a 3.78 per cent increase in the total revenue collected by DisCos in 2019/Q2 when compared to ₦116.90bn collected in 2019/Q1.”
This amounts to a loss of 60.76bn. The first quarter of 2019, was the most indebted in terms of revenue collection for the electricity industry.
For the first quarter of 2019, the commission noted that, “The total revenue collected by 11 DisCos from customers in the first quarter of 2019 stood at ₦116.9bn out of the total billing of ₦182.8bn.
“Despite the increase in the amount of energy received by DisCos and a higher billing efficiency recorded relative to the preceding quarter, there is a 0.5 per cent decrease in the total revenue collected by DisCos in the first quarter of 2019 when compared to ₦117.5bn collected in the last quarter of 2018. The number of unpaid bills in this quarter was N65.90bn.”
In the last quarter of 2018, the regulator said, “The total revenue collected by 11 DisCos from customers in the fourth quarter of 2018 stood at ₦117.5bn out of the total billing of ₦172.5bn.
“This represents a 9.9 per cent increase in the total collection in the fourth quarter when compared to ₦107bn collected in the third quarter of 2018. The relative increase in revenue collection in the quarter under review is mainly attributed to an increase in the amount of energy received by DisCos.
“This period recorded the lowest indebted in the periods under view, with a debt of N55.00bn.
“When the distribution companies are unable to collect earnings from customers, the whole industry is affected, as the generation companies need to pay for gas and the transmission company has to maintain the grid.”