NewStats: 3,263,280 , 8,179,633 topics. Date: Thursday, 05 June 2025 at 11:05 AM 5o5p5m

The Federal Government has described the performance of electricity distribution companies in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, NESI, as disappointing.


Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu, who stated this at a two-day retreat organised by the Senate Committee on Power, noted the DisCos have been frustrating the efforts by the government to improve power supply.

A statement by the Special Adviser, Strategic Communication and Media Relations to the Minister, Bolaji Tunji said Adelabu spoke on the persistent crisis threatening to derail progress in the sector which is chronic underinvestment in distribution infrastructure, which continues to cripple service delivery nationwide in spite of landmark reforms in the electricity sector.

The minister revealed glaring disparities in distribution company performance, with aging networks, rampant electricity theft, and poor investment deepening reliance on unsustainable subsidies and leaving millions in darkness.


“We need to get tough with the DisCos, as they can easily frustrate all the gains we have made. They have disappointed us in performance expectations. Whatever we do in generation does not mean anything to consumers if it is frustrated at the distribution points,” said Adelabu.

He noted that in the 2003 restructuring of the sector, the DisCos were supposed to have technical partners, but a lot of them showed partnership with foreign companies for that purpose which lasted for about three months, immediately they took over, those companies left.

“So we need utility companies that can invest in the sector to improve infrastructure, improve service,” he said, adding that, “a lot of them went to the banks to take loans to buy the assets after taking over. Instead of providing infrastructure they are taking out the money to pay the loans.”

According to the minister, despite tariff adjustments that boosted market liquidity by 70 percent—raising sector revenue from ₦1 trillion in 2023 to ₦1.7 trillion in 2024—the distribution segment remains the weakest link.

“In the fourth quarter of 2024, DisCos in the North remitted just ₦124.4 billion (30 percent) of their ₦408.86 billion invoice, with Abuja DisCo ing for 85 percent of Northern payments. Southern DisCos fared slightly better, remitting ₦254.6 billion (67 percent), though 70 percent of this came from Lagos DisCos alone. These discrepancies are due largely to crumbling infrastructure outside economic hubs, where underinvestment has left networks dilapidated,” he said.

The minister explained that the metering gap, a key driver of revenue loss and consumer distrust, underscores systemic neglect, adding that the government has launched a ₦700 billion Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) and a World Bank-backed programme targeting 4.3 million meters by 2025, 75,000 units were deployed in April 2024 while additional 200, 000 is expected in May.


“Closing this gap is fundamental to fair billing and financial sustainability,” the minister acknowledged, “but we are not there yet due to underinvestment and operational inefficiencies.”


The sector also faces a ₦4 trillion subsidy backlog owed to generation companies, including ₦1.94 trillion for 2024 alone. With monthly subsidy shortfalls now hitting ₦200 billion, the minister warned that maintaining current tariffs is “unsustainable,” straining public funds needed for infrastructure upgrades.

“To salvage the sector, we will soon embark on restructuring underperforming DisCos and tightening enforcement of performance benchmarks. However, without urgent capital injection into distribution networks, gains in generation—including a historic 6,003MW output in March 2025—and transmission upgrades, such as 61 new transformers deployed in 2024, will fail to translate to reliable household supply,” he said.

The minister highlighted plans to attract private investment into grid infrastructure and regionalise transmission networks to reduce failure risks, noting that the 70 percent remittance by the two DisCos in Lagos reflects better infrastructure than what obtains in the northern networks.

He called on the National Assembly to enact stricter legislation aimed at safeguarding Nigeria’s power infrastructure from acts of vandalism.

Emphasising the need for enhanced legal measures, Adelabu stressed that robust laws are critical to deterring the destruction of vital energy assets and ensuring the stability of the nation’s electricity supply.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2025/05/discos-performance-in-power-supply-disappointing-says-fg/

BEDC is the worst of them all

A monumental failure calling DISCOs disappointing. The clowns in this government are really funny

You go speak English, oh-oh
Cho-cho-cho, no working

Most especially with this their bias Band system

Sigh... How does the Minister of Power still have a job?!!

When will Nigerian Presidents and Governors quit gifting sensitive appointments to charlatans in the name of politics?!!

Among these DISCOs PHED is the worst of them all. With BAN A they can't give customers 12 hours electricity a day.
From one story to another everyday

Very useless company

They were not meant to perform in the first place. Not at all.

People who came into the Industry with absolutely nothing except to take over old NEPA offices and no difference in the old NEPA. It was just a change of name lasan

Therefore there is no way they will and can perform.

Comot hands patapata from the sector and see the turnaround within a year

The power sector in Nigeria is Huge. We need constant power to kick start the Nigerian Economy not these nonsense you are all doing

If only they have provide prepaid metres to all households, what we would have been talking about now is how to go around checking,to endure that the metres are not tampered with or byed. The metres should be on the poles for all and strictly prohibited for any individual to be seen with a prepaid metre except a group of distribution company staffs on official duty to mount metres.

Expect more blame game folks

Resign if you can't deliver

The blame game continues... Clueless minister blaming incompetent DisCos

Just imagine..FCT Abuja rationing electricity and sometimes no power for like 2days..what a shame

Resignation is the right thing to do

Discos frustrating the efforts of the FG


This man again??

And he still has a job??

This is the one APC touted as governorship aspirant in Oyo State. If he wins, Oyo State is dead.

Set of ignoramuses.

Fixing electricity is not rocket science says the people who were desperate for power, and after they've been in power for not less than 10 years fixing the power remain not just a
rocket science but mystery to them.
If you can't get the best out of the discos or lack the capacity to improve the power sector then resign for someone who's capable.

APC cause am

The first thing this powerbank carrying minister has said right
Those Discos operate like criminal enterprises
Excess bills and little to no power supply
Smh

Power supply is really bad in most places. Where I come from in Akwa ibom, we see light 4 hours in a week

dsocioemmy:
Discos frustrating the efforts of the FG


This man again??

And he still has a job??

He is not off point at all.
The cumulative installed capacity of our power plants is 13000MW+, Average daily output is 4500-5000MW+, yet this less than 5000MW can't be effectively distributed to Nigerians. Discos reject load (in many areas) just to limit their financial liabilities.
ATC&C Losses are on the high and these Discos have little or no investment to reduce the losses, improve the network and improve revenue assurance.

Even if generation ramps up to 30000MW today, these DISCOs can't deliver power to Nigerians as expected.

The discos has already increased their tarrifs because before I use to get 11+ kilowatts per 1k but now it's 8+ kilowatts per 1k.

The solution to the DisCos’ problem is straightforward: meter all customers and enact a law making it illegal to supply electricity without a meter after the mass metering phase. Clearly inform Nigerians that once mass metering is complete, any household without a meter will receive electricity for free, as estimated billing will be deemed unlawful. This policy would compel DisCos to improve their infrastructure, as their only path to revenue would be through supplying consistent electricity or expanding their customer base. With such incentives in place, DisCos would be naturally driven to invest in infrastructure—no coercion needed.

Once the new meters arrive in earnest, I would mass meter Lagos and Abuja households that are still unmetered within 6 months and will implement new laws that stipulates Discos covering Lagos and Abuja should henceforth not sell electricity to any of their customers without meters, with huge fines being the consequence. I would then extend it to other Discos in few months.

Between this man and Fashola I wonder who is the most confused power minister ever.

They're giving us light for far less than 24 hours per day (sometimes none for days) and still billing us on Band A. So annoying.