Electricity Subsidy Drops 35% To N679.6bn In Six Months — NERC

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) says the Federal Government incurred N679.58 billion in electricity subsidy obligations in the first half of 2026, representing a 35.27 per cent decline from the N1.05 trillion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.

NERC disclosed this in its second-quarter 2026 report, attributing the decline largely to a reduction in electricity offtake by distribution companies (DisCos).

The commission said subsidy obligations stood at N321.26 billion in the second quarter, compared with N358.32 billion in the first quarter, representing a quarterly decline of N37.06 billion, or 10.34 per cent.

NERC said the Q2 subsidy accounted for 49.60 per cent of the total invoices issued by electricity generating companies, down from 51.95 per cent in Q1

READ ALSO:

Civil Servants Begin 3-Day Strike Over Fuel Price, Wage Award

‘Tragic,’ 42-Year-Old Billionaire, Wife Die In Helicopter Crash

65 Days Wasted: Keivo Disqualified From BBNaija Season 11 Days To N160m Finale

According to the commission, the reduction was primarily driven by a 3.40 per cent decline in energy offtake by DisCos between the first and second quarters.

NERC said the Distribution Recovery Obligation-adjusted invoice issued by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc to DisCos stood at N326.46 billion in Q2, while total remittances reached N306.62 billion, representing 93.92 per cent performance.

This compared with an N331.40 billion invoice and N312.48 billion remittance in Q1, representing 94.29 per cent performance.

Seven DisCos hit full remittance

The commission said Benin, Eko, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Port Harcourt and Yola DisCos achieved 100 per cent remittance performance to NBET during the quarter.

However, Kano, Jos and Kaduna DisCos recorded remittance rates below 70 per cent, with 66.51 per cent, 62.39 per cent and 50.10 per cent respectively.

NERC said Yola, Ibadan, Kaduna and Enugu recorded quarter-on-quarter improvements in remittance performance, while Kano, Jos and Abuja recorded declines.

The commission also disclosed that DisCos remitted N78.82 billion against N83.92 billion invoiced by the Market Operator for energy transmission and administrative services during the quarter.

The payment represented 93.92 per cent remittance performance, an improvement of 0.64 percentage points over the 93.28 per cent recorded in Q1.

NERC said all DisCos except Abuja, Yola, Ibadan, Kano, Jos and Kaduna achieved 100 per cent remittance performance to the Market Operator in Q2.

The report put Abuja’s remittance rate at 99.93 per cent, Yola at 99.34 per cent, Ibadan at 98.73 per cent, Kano at 69.72 per cent, Jos at 67.09 per cent and Kaduna at 57.86 per cent.

Compared with the previous quarter, Kano and Jos recorded declines of 14.97 and 5.32 percentage points respectively in their remittance performance to the Market Operator.