Discos lose 1.13 million customers over rising energy costs

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Electricity Distribution Companies have lost over 1.13 million customers amid lingering concerns over unreliable power supply and rising energy costs, findings by Sunday PUNCH have shown.

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This happened even as the Disco supplied more electricity, generated record revenues and expanded metering in 2025.

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Data contained in the National Bureau of Statistics’ latest Nigeria Electricity Report: Energy Billed, Revenue Generated and Customers by DISCOs (Q4 2025), compiled from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, showed that while operational indicators improved across the sector, the total customer base fell sharply during the year.

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According to the report, the number of electricity customers declined from 13.30 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 12.16 million in the corresponding period of 2025, representing a year-on-year drop of 8.52 per cent or 1,133,390 customers.

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The report stated, “Total customer numbers in Q4 2025 stood at 12.16 million, up from 12.03 million in Q3 2025, representing a 1.11 per cent quarter-on-quarter increase. On a year-on-year basis, the number of customers declined by 8.52 per cent, from 13.30 million recorded in Q4 2024.”

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The customer decline comes despite a 6.76 per cent increase in electricity supplied by the distribution companies, which rose from 6,207.85 gigawatt-hours in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 6,627.56GWh in the same period of 2025.

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Revenue collection also climbed significantly during the period.

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The NBS said total revenue generated by the Discos increased by 23.75 per cent year-on-year to N630.93bn in the fourth quarter of 2025 from N509.84bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2024. On an annual basis, collections rose from N1.69tn in 2024 to N2.32tn in 2025.

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Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company recorded the highest annual revenue of N440.86bn, followed by Eko Disco with N420.57bn and Abuja Disco with N375.95bn.

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Metering also improved substantially, with the number of metered customers rising from 6.21 million to 6.97 million within one year, representing a 12.18 per cent increase.

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The report noted that the proportion of customers on prepaid meters increased from 46.71 per cent in December 2024 to 57.27 per cent in December 2025, while estimated billing declined by 26.67 per cent as unmetered customers dropped from 7.09 million to 5.20 million.

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It stated, “Similarly, the number of metered customers reached 6.97 million in Q4 2025, representing a 4.58 per cent increase from 6.66 million recorded in the preceding quarter. On a year-on-year basis, metered customers increased by 12.18 per cent.

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“In addition, the number of estimated customers stood at 5.20 million in Q4 2025… On a year-on-year basis, estimated customers decreased by 26.67 per cent.”

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Despite the improvements, several Discos recorded significant losses in customer numbers.

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Benin Electricity Distribution Company posted the highest decline, losing 379,616 customers, followed by Kaduna Disco with 341,150 customers and Yola Disco with 311,527 customers.

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Ibadan Disco lost 199,409 customers, while Port Harcourt, Kano, Eko and Jos Discos also recorded declines.

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However, Enugu Electricity Distribution Company gained 245,129 customers during the period, Abuja Disco added 146,378 customers, while Ikeja Disco recorded an increase of 22,016 customers.

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The development comes as households and businesses increasingly abandon the national grid over persistent power outages and high electricity costs.

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The PUNCH had reported that 24 bulk electricity consumers secured licences in 2024 to disconnect from the national grid and generate their own power, while another 22 entities obtained off-grid generation permits with a combined capacity of about 289 megawatts.

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Similarly, about 250 manufacturers and tertiary institutions have exited the distribution companies’ networks in favour of self-generation due to unreliable electricity supply.

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More recently, The PUNCH reported that companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange spent N400.83bn on alternative energy sources in the first quarter of 2026, representing a 3.66 per cent increase from N386.67bn recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

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The newspaper also found that firms that separately disclosed electricity expenses recorded an 81.50 per cent increase in power costs, reflecting the combined impact of higher tariffs and continued dependence on diesel, gas and other alternative energy sources.

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The Minister of Power, Chief Joseph Tegbe, has, however, assured Nigerians that electricity supply would improve significantly before the end of the year, saying the Federal Government was implementing difficult but necessary reforms to address decades of underinvestment and poor management in the power sector.

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