Power distribution companies raked in about N296bn as electricity bills from customers in the first quarter of 2022, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission said on Thursday.
In its just released first quarter 2022 report, the power sector regulator stated that the collection efficiency of the Discos was 67.36 per cent during the quarter under review.
This came as the Transmission Company of Nigeria announced on Thursday that it took delivery of two 150MVA, 330/132/33kV power transformers and accessories at its Central Store Ojo, Lagos State.
Explaining the collection efficiency of Discos in Q1, 2022, the NERC said, “The total revenue collected by all Discos in 2022/Q1 was N199.9bn out of N295.69bn billed to customers.
‘This corresponds to a collection efficiency of 67.36 per cent, which represents a 1.98 percentage point reduction compared to 2021/Q4, where the average collection efficiency was 69.34 per cent.
“In monetary terms, although the billing in 2022/Q1 reduced by N7.41bn (-2.44 per cent), revenue collections reduced at a higher rate of N10.98bn (-5.22 per cent).”
The commission said it was imperative for Discos to employ technologies and operational procedures to increase both their billing and collection performances to forestall long term financial challenges.
“These could include holistic energy accounting procedures, customer and infrastructure metering, etc,” the NERC stated.
On market remittance, the commission said the combined invoices from the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and the Market Operator to Discos in 2022/Q1 was N205.63bn.
It said the invoices were split as follows: generation costs – N164.86bn; and transmission and administrative services – N40.77bn.
Source: The Punch
