Consumers paid N196.68bn for electricity in February – NERC
By Obas Esiedesa, Abuja
Electricity consumers across the country paid N196.68 billion in February, 2026, despite continued poor power supply, the latest report by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has shown.
Data from the Commission’s Commercial Performance of Distribution Companies (DisCos) for February, released on Tuesday, indicated that the DisCos’ revenue declined by 3.9 percent compared to the N204.75 billion collected in January.
The Commission disclosed that the DisCos recorded a collection efficiency of 81.17 percent after billing customers N242.29 billion, implying that about N45.61 billion remained uncollected.
Similarly, the utilities incurred losses of N34.8 billion due to billing inefficiencies, having received electricity valued at N277.09 billion from generation companies during the period.
Why power sector continues to underperform – Iledare
In a note explaining the persistent lack of improvement in the power sector, energy expert, Wumi Iledare, said Nigeria’s electricity crisis cannot be sustainably resolved unless policy discussions shift from “what is” to “what ought to be.”
According to him, the sector has largely been approached from an engineering and technological perspective, whereas electricity systems fundamentally operate within an economic, institutional, and public policy framework.
“Technology delivers electrons; economics determines whether those electrons are affordable, available, reliable, and sustainable,” he said.
He argued that pricing should not be the starting point, noting that tariffs are only an outcome of deeper structural issues such as cost recovery, market organisation, fuel supply security, transmission constraints, governance efficiency, and policy consistency.
Iledare added that Nigeria’s affordability–availability–sustainability challenge cannot be resolved through tariff adjustments alone without addressing the underlying architecture of the electricity market, describing band-based pricing as “primitive” and as flawed as the estimated billing system.
He also criticised the country’s restructuring efforts, saying they have been overly focused on decentralisation as an end rather than a means to achieving efficiency and investment.
Without a coherent industrial policy and clearly defined market structure, he warned that fragmentation could worsen inefficiencies.
The professor pointed at the misclassification of consumers, stressing that residential, commercial, and industrial users have different consumption patterns and economic roles. He noted that industrial consumers, in particular, are key drivers of productivity and employment and should not be subjected to weak pricing frameworks.
According to him, Nigeria moved too quickly away from vertical integration without first building the institutional strength, regulatory depth, and infrastructure required for a competitive electricity market, resulting in liquidity crises, weak transmission coordination, and persistent revenue shortfalls.
He called for a shift toward electricity sector economics and development-focused public policy, urging the country to clearly define the kind of power system needed to support industrialisation, energy security, and inclusive growth before designing institutions around it.
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