Electricity distribution companies (DisCo) recorded a 7.97% drop in revenue between Q1 and Q2 2022. The total revenue loss amounted to N16.32 billion, going from N204.74 billion generated in the first quarter (Q1) of 2022 to N188.41 billion in the year’s second quarter (Q2).
According to the electricity report data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the revenue loss was because of a drop in electricity supplied within the period.
The total electricity supplied in Q2 was 5226.67 gigawatt-hour (GWh) as against the 5955.52 GWh supplied in Q1. The 728.54 GWh difference in electricity supplied represents a 12.23% decrease from Q1.
The drop in the supply of electricity in Q2 was primarily due to multiple collapses of the national grid. The percentage drop in electricity supply is higher than in revenue generation.
While the electricity supply dropped by 12.23%, revenue decreased by 7.97%.
Dataphyte analysis shows that except for 2021, revenue accrued to DisCos has dropped in at least one quarter every year since 2015. In 2019 the drop in revenue occurred in two quarters.
In 2015 and 2016, DisCos experienced a drop in revenue in the second quarter, but the decline in revenue in 2017 and 2018 happened during the third quarter of those years.
In 2019 electricity revenue dropped twice – revenue generated in the first quarter of the year was N116.9 billion, a N0.64 billion drop from the N117.54 generated in the fourth quarter of 2018. Revenue generation picked up in Q2 to N121.32 billion. But in Q3 of the year, revenues dropped by N0.75 billion to N120.57 billion.
In 2020, DisCos recorded a revenue drop in Q2. After this period, revenue increased consecutively up to the first quarter of 2022 before the decline in the second quarter.
On the other hand, the energy supply did not respond to revenue movement in each period. In some years, multiple drops in electricity supply did not lead to a decrease in revenue generated in that period.
In 2016 and 2021, when revenue garnered by DisCo increased consecutively, there were drops in electricity supply in those years.
The increase in revenue, despite the drop in supply, may be attributed to the rise in electricity tariff over the period. Data shows that electricity tariffs have increased from July 2015 to 2020. It grew from N12 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in July 2015 to N22/kWh in December of the same year. It was N32/kWh in 2017 and then rose to N40 kWh in 2020. In 2021, the tariff paid on electricity rose to 50.72/kWh.
These tariff increases could account for an increase in revenue generated by the DisCos despite drops in electricity supply in certain periods.