Discos earn N3.95tn in five years – Report
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, Nigeria's electricity distribution companies (Discos) generated approximately N3.95 trillion in revenue between 2019 and the first quarter of 2024.According to The Punch, Discos earned N482.6 billion in 2019, N526.8 billion in 2020, N761.2 billion in 2021, N828.1 billion in 2022, N1.07 trillion in 2023, and N291.6 billion in the first quarter of 2024.
Industry experts attribute this consistent growth to ongoing tariff adjustments aimed at achieving cost-reflective pricing, which allows Discos to better match revenue with the cost of providing electricity.
The National Mass Metering Programme has also made a significant contribution by increasing the number of metered customers, decreasing reliance on estimated billing, and increasing revenue accuracy.
The program has also helped to reduce Aggregate Technical, Commercial, and Collection (ATC&C) losses, which have long been an issue in the industry.
Furthermore, improved regulatory oversight and the use of modern billing and collection technologies have simplified processes, reduced revenue leakages, and increased collection efficiency.
Despite this revenue increase, the Discos face numerous challenges, including high unpaid bills, electricity theft, infrastructure deficits, and energy losses.
These issues have hampered the Discos' ability to fully realise the potential of Nigeria's electricity market.
Responding to the report, Kunle Olubiyo, President of the Nigeria Consumer Protection Network, expressed concerns about the Discos' efficiency and called for immediate reforms.
Olubiyo criticised power distributors on Friday for failing to meet their pre-privatisation commitments to meter customers. Despite improvements in collection and billing efficiency, he claimed that the Discos have fallen far short of their obligations.
"We cannot score the Discos higher than 5%. In terms of complaint resolution, they lack software to track issues and have failed miserably in conflict resolution," he stated.
Olubiyo also highlighted the Discos' shortcomings, despite significant investments in the firms by the government and the Central Bank of Nigeria aimed at improving network performance.
Olubiyo also expressed concerns about the implementation of the Federal Government's National Mass Metering Programme, accusing meter vendors and Discos of conspiring.
"Many of the customers listed as metered were not metered." The plan was to attach GPS coordinates to every metered point as a precondition for metering, but this was not carried out," the NCPN president stated.
Olubiyo criticised the government's ongoing intervention, which uses public funds to import and install two million meters per year. He questioned the essence of privatisation, claiming that such measures undermine the goal of transferring the power sector to private entities.
He also mentioned instances in which governance or liquidity issues forced Discos into receivership, with interim management teams appointed by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to stabilise the companies.
However, he observed that the effectiveness of these interventions was frequently hampered by internal politics and job insecurity among Disco executives.
"We've seen board chairmen abruptly remove MDs from Abuja, Port Harcourt, and several other Discos," Olubiyo said, emphasising the gravity of the situation.
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