The 11 power distribution companies operating in Nigeria failed to remit N119.88bn in the first quarter of the year, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has said.
In its quarterly report for the first quarter released on Monday, the power sector regulator said the Discos did not make the required remittance to stipulated agencies in the industry.
The report said, “During the first quarter of 2020, a total invoice of N185.08bn was issued to the 11 Discos for energy received from the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and for service charge by MO (Market Operator).
“But only a sum of N60.20bn of the total invoice was settled, representing 32.53 per cent remittance performance. This represents a 5.79 percentage point decline from the final settlement rate recorded in the fourth quarter of 2019.”
It stated that whereas three Discos fully met the expected minimum remittance thresholds to the MO, none of the 11 Discos fully met the MRTs to NBET.
The NERC stated that the average aggregate remittance performances to MO and NBET were 93.09 per cent and 27.96 per cent respectively.
The commission further observed that the financial viability and commercial performance of the industry continued to be a major challenge with a decline in the first quarter of 2020.
“During the quarter under review, the total billing to and collection from electricity consumers by all the 11 Discos stood at N186.82bn and N114.29bn respectively,” the NERC stated.