NIGERIA’S 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) rely on unmetered customers to earn profits, with the Federal government’s mass metering intervention moving at snail’s speed.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that estimated electricity customers stood at 5.91 million in the third quarter of 2022, higher by 1.09 per cent on the 5.85 million figure recorded in the second quarter of the year.
Although the NBS report stated that on a year-on-year basis estimated customers declined by 6.38 per cent in the third quarter of 2022 from 6.32 million recorded in the third quarter of 2021, revenue collected by the DisCos during the period stood at N202.62 billion in the third quarter of 2022, from N188.41 billion in the second quarter, indicating a rise of 7.54 per cent.
The Federal government had in 2020 commenced a mass metering initiative to put an end to the estimated electricity billing regime.
Under the initiative, the government planned to distribute over six million electricity meters free to Nigerians.
But data for the electricity sector, which was prepared by the NBS, showed that instead, the number of estimated customers has been on an upward trend.
Some industry watchers knowledgeable about the sector told The ICIR that the Federal government’s mass metering policy has so far posted poor results despite World Bank facility support for metering in millions of dollars.
“Everyone is confused about the progress of the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP), and it’s a shame we cannot muster the resources – even after taking the World Bank loan – to complete a simple project like the NMMP.
“The last serious thing I heard was in late December 2022 that contract offers were given to meter manufacturers, but the prices quoted were ridiculously low. So, manufacturers and vendors were writing and asking for the review of the awarded prices,” the executive director of PowerUp Nigeria, Adetayo Adegbemle, told The ICIR.
Another power sector governance expert, Chuks Nwani, told The ICIR that the government must explore every opportunity to close metering gaps to help address the liquidity shortfall in the power sector.
“Government must explore options of even importing meters and not rely solely on indigenous meter manufacturers to close the metering gap. Every day, new houses are being erected and connected to the grid. We need to close the gap soonest,” Adegbemle said.
The NBS report revealed that on a year-on-year basis, revenue generated rose by 5.56 per cent from N191.95 billion in the quarter of 2021.
It further said electricity supply in the third quarter of 2022 stood at 5,024 gigawatt-hour (a unit of energy representing one billion watt hours) from 5,227 gigawatts on the second quarter of 2022.
The report also revealed that electricity supply declined by 8.53 per cent on a year-on-year basis, compared to 5,493 Gigawatt reported in the third quarter of 2021.
The NBS stated that the total customer numbers in the fourth quarter of 2022 stood at 11.06 million, from 10.94 million recorded in the third quarter of 2022, thus showing an increase of 1.10 per cent.
The report stated, “On a year-on-year basis, the number of customers in the fourth quarter of 2022 increased by 5.17 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2021 recorded at 10.51 million.”
The report said metered customers in the fourth quarter of 2022 stood at 5.13 million from the 5.02 million customers recorded in the quarter of 2022, indicating a 2 per cent growth rate.
Nevertheless, on a year-on-year basis, this grew by 7.37 per cent from the 4.77 million customers recorded in 2021.
The report said the number of estimated billing customers was 5.93 million in the fourth quarter of 2022, which was higher by 0.34 per cent from the 5.91 million reported in the third quarter of 2022.
On a year-on-year basis, this rose by 3.34 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022, from the figure reported in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The report said N232.32 billion was generated by the DisCos in the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to N202.62 billion recorded in the third quarter of 2022.
It said on a year-on-year basis, revenue collected rose by 16.02 per cent from N200.23 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021.
The NBS said the number of DisCos’ customers in Nigeria increased from 10.81 million in the second quarter of 2022 to 10.94 million in the third quarter of 2022.
Accordingly, the NBS Nigeria Electricity Report for the third and fourth quarters of 2022 released in Abuja on Monday, the figure showed an increase of 1.20 per cent.
The report focused mainly on billed energy, revenue generated and DisCos customers under the reviewed period.
The report said that on a year-on-year basis, customer numbers in the third quarter of 2022 declined by 1.19 per cent, from the number recorded in the third quarter of 2021.
“In the third quarter of 2022, the number of metered customers stood at 5.02 million, from 4.96 million in the second quarter of 2022, indicating a 1.33 per cent increase.
“However, on a year-on-year basis, this grew by 5.71 per cent from the figure reported in the third quarter of 2021 at 4.75 million,” the report stated.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.