5.85m of Nigeria’s 10.81m electricity customers still unmetered in Q2,2022
Oredola Adeola
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that a total of five million, eight hundred and fifty thousand (5.85m) electricity customers are still on estimated billings out of 10.81million total customers under the eleven(11) electricity distribution companies(DisCos).
This was revealed by the National Bureau of Statistics in its electricity report on quarter-on-quarter (Q1-Q2) for 2022 obtained by EnergyDay, on Tuesday.
The report showed that the total number of Nigerian electricity customers in the first quarter (Q1) 2022 stood at 10.63 million and 10.81 million in Q2 2022, showing a rise of 1.67% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
The NBS document indicated that on a year-on-year basis, electricity customer number in Q1 2022 declined by 1.36% from Q1 2021 (10.78 million), and also fell in Q2 2022 by 2.27% from Q2 2021 (11.06million).
The report also showed that metered customers stood at 4.79 million in Q1 2022 and 4.96 million in Q2 2022, indicating a 3.53% increase on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
However, on a year-on-year basis, there were growth rates of 10.71% and 9.54% in Q1 and Q2 2022 respectively when compared to 4.33 million recorded in Q1 2021 and 4.53 million in Q2 2021.
The NBS data showed that customers on estimated billings stood at 5.84 million in Q1 2022 and 5.85 million in Q2 2022, showing an increase of 0.14% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
While on a year-on-year basis, customers on estimated billings declined by 9.45% in Q1 2022, and 10.45% in Q2 2022 when compared to 6.45 million in Q1 2021 and 6.53 million in Q2 2021.
Abuja DisCo ( AEDC) had a total of 1.125m registered customers as of the year under review. Benin( BEDC) had 1.141m customers, Eko Electricity (EKEDC) had 614,370.
Enugu Electricity( EEDC) had 1.289m; Ibadan DisCo (IBEDC), 2.084m; Ikeja (IE), 967,195, and Jos (JEDC), 688,496.
Kaduna (KADCO) boasted of 758,339; Kano (KEDC), 668,843; and Port Harcourt (PEDC), 720,316. Yola (YEDC) had 458,297 customers in the year under review, bringing total customers by all the DisCos to 10.515m.
Based on the report, out of the total electricity customers registered under each of the DisCos, AEDC was able to meter a total of 701,781; BEDC – 622,429; EKEDC- 348,016; and EEDC- 562,500.
However, IBEDC mea 782,105; Ikeja- 719,140; Jos – 210,833; and Kaduna DisCo metered 166,045 customers.
EnergyDay based on this figure above showed Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) suffered from a huge metering gap despite the metering intervention including the Credit Advance Programme for Metering Implementation (CAPMI), Meter Asset Provider(MAP), and Federal Government’s National Mass Metering Programme.
These two major interventions have failed to yield the desired result.
Based on the data provided by the NBS, the majority of Nigerians are still on estimated billing without any efforts by the DisCos to accommodate them into the metering bracket.
Ahmad Zakari, Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Infrastructure, in a recent statement revealed that about N120 billion capital expenditure (CAPEX) fund was released by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the DisCos to close the metering gap.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also moved to freeze 157 accounts of companies that are Meter Asset Providers (MAPs) for allegedly diverting funds meant for the procurement of prepaid meters.
The apex bank in a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on July 20, requested commercial banks to restrict the account of 10 companies that received power sector intervention funds under the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) for 180 days pending the outcome of its investigation.
The NBS data however showed that electricity supply in Q1 2022 recorded a peak growth of 5,956 (Gigawatt per hour) and 5,227 (Gwh) in Q2 2022, showing a decline of 12.23% on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
Nevertheless, on a year-on-year basis, electricity supply declined compared to 6,172.19 (Gwh) and 5,882.57 (Gwh) reported in Q1 2021 and Q2 2021 respectively.
Revenue generation by the DISCOs stood at 204.74 billion in Q1 2022 and 188.41 billion in Q2 2022.
This showed a fall on a quarter-on-quarter basis of 7.97%. On a year-on-year basis, revenue collected rose by 11.42% and 1.71% respectively from 183.74 billion in Q1 2021 and 185.24 billion in Q2 2021.
