In the first quarter of 2024, the Nigerian government paid N633.30bn in electricity subsidies. Learn about the impact and reasons behind this expenditure.
According to the quarterly report of Nigeria’s Electricity Regulatory Commission, an astounding ₦633.30 billion was paid by the Federal Government in electricity subsidies during Q1 2024.
The federal government’s payment of N633.30 billion marks a significant surge of 150.5% from the ₦252.76 billion paid in Q4 2023.
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The significant increase is attributed to the government’s policy of harmonizing exchange rates and lack of cost-reflected tariffs among all electricity distribution companies.
Despite receiving significant subsidies, the distribution companies (DisCos) fell short of revenue expectations. They only collected ₦291.62 billion out of a billed amount of ₦368.65 billion from their customers.
The total energy received by all DisCos stands at 7,171.93GWh while the end-use customers were billed for a total of 5,769.52GWh, resulting in an overall billing efficiency rate of 80.45%.
The highest revenue collection was reported by Ikeja DisCo, with Eko DisCo and Yola DisCo ranking second and third with ₦57.88 billion, ₦48.74 billion and ₦5.46 billion respectively.
