Seven DisCos recorded full remittance to NBET in second quarter as government subsidy obligation dropped by 35.27%……
The federal government’s financial burden on electricity subsidies dropped significantly in the first half of 2026, with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) putting the total obligation at N679.58 billion.
The figure represents a 35.27 percent decline from the N1.05 trillion subsidy obligation recorded during the corresponding period in 2025.
NERC disclosed this in its second-quarter report, which showed that the government’s subsidy obligation stood at N321.26 billion between April and June, compared with N358.32 billion recorded in the first quarter.
The commission linked the quarter-on-quarter reduction largely to lower electricity offtake by distribution companies (DisCos), which fell by 3.40 percent during the period.
NERC said the subsidy obligation in Q2 accounted for 49.60 percent of the total invoices issued by electricity generation companies (GenCos), compared with 51.95 percent in Q1.
“It is important to note that due to the absence of cost reflective tariffs across all DisCos, the Government incurred a subsidy obligation of N321.26 billion; this represents a ₦37.06 billion (-10.34%) reduction in FGN subsidy compared to 2026/Q1 (₦358.32 billion),” the commission said.
The regulator also reported a slight decline in the amount invoiced to DisCos by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) and the payments made during the quarter.
According to NERC, the distribution companies received a DRO-adjusted invoice of N326.46 billion from NBET in Q2, while total remittances stood at N306.62 billion, representing a 93.92 percent remittance performance.
In comparison, NBET’s DRO-adjusted invoice to the DisCos stood at N331.40 billion in Q1, against total remittances of N312.48 billion, translating to 94.29 percent performance.
Seven distribution companies recorded full remittance performance to NBET during the second quarter.
They are Benin, Eko, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Port Harcourt and Yola DisCos.
However, NERC said Kano, Jos and Kaduna DisCos recorded remittance rates below 70 percent, at 66.51 percent, 62.39 percent and 50.10 percent respectively.
The commission said a quarter-on-quarter assessment showed mixed performances among the DisCos.
Yola recorded the largest improvement, with a 16.45 percentage-point increase, followed by Ibadan with 6.38 percentage points, Kaduna with 5.52 percentage points and Enugu with 0.68 percentage points.
On the other hand, Kano recorded an 18.66 percentage-point decline, while Jos and Abuja fell by 4.71 and 1.02 percentage points respectively compared with the first quarter.
NERC also disclosed that the Market Operator issued invoices to the DisCos for energy transmission and administrative services during the quarter.
It said the DisCos remitted N78.82 billion against a cumulative invoice of N83.92 billion issued by the Market Operator in Q2.
The amount represented a 93.92 percent remittance performance, an improvement of 0.64 percentage points from the 93.28 percent recorded in Q1.
In the first quarter, the DisCos had remitted N83.74 billion against an N89.78 billion invoice issued by the Market Operator.
According to the regulator, all the DisCos, except Abuja, Yola, Ibadan, Kano, Jos and Kaduna, achieved 100 percent remittance performance to the Market Operator during the second quarter.
The disaggregated figures showed that Abuja recorded 99.93 percent, followed by Yola at 99.34 percent and Ibadan at 98.73 percent.
Kano recorded 69.72 percent, while Jos and Kaduna posted 67.09 percent and 57.86 percent respectively.
Compared with the previous quarter, Kano’s remittance performance to the Market Operator declined by 14.97 percentage points, while Jos recorded a 5.32 percentage-point drop.
