In a landmark development for Nigeria’s power sector, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) reported zero incidents of national grid collapse in the first quarter of 2025—a significant improvement from the 12 recorded outages in 2024. This progress, attributed to better grid management practices, reflects increasing operational stability in the country’s notoriously fragile electricity network.
The first-quarter regulatory report released by NERC covered system operations, revenue remittance, metering progress, customer service delivery, and safety compliance across the electricity value chain.
“There was no incidence of system disturbance on the national grid in 2025/Q1,” the report stated, crediting the milestone to enhanced system coordination by the System Operator, despite operational challenges that still remain.
However, the Commission also flagged concerns over system frequency and voltage inconsistencies. Average daily frequency ranged between 49.28Hz and 50.77Hz, deviating from the ideal 49.75Hz–50.25Hz band, though still within stress tolerance levels. Similarly, voltage levels remained outside Grid Code benchmarks, indicating the need for further improvements in grid optimization.
The report showed modest gains in remittance by electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos). Of the N432.13 billion invoiced by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) and Market Operator (MO), the DisCos remitted N414.26 billion—a 95.86% performance rate, up from 92.68% in Q4 2024.
However, revenue collection efficiency dipped to 74.39% in Q1 2025, down from 77.44% in the previous quarter. The sector recorded N553.63 billion in actual revenue collected from customers out of N744.27 billion billed, resulting in a staggering N200.5 billion loss. The sector’s aggregate technical, commercial, and collection (ATC&C) losses stood at 39.61%, almost double the 20.54% benchmark set by the 2025 Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO).
Kaduna Electric posted the worst performance, with an actual ATC&C loss of 68.57%, compared to its regulatory target of 21.32%.
Compliance among international bilateral customers was dismal, with only $5.8 million remitted out of $17.24 million invoiced—a payment rate of 33.70%. Domestic bilateral customers performed better, achieving a 72.24% payment compliance, remitting N1.86 billion out of N2.57 billion invoiced.
NERC also reported the installation of 187,194 electricity meters in Q1 2025, marking a marginal 0.41% increase over Q4 2024. Of this total, the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) scheme accounted for 79.44% with 148,713 meters installed.
Other deployment channels included the Meter Acquisition Fund (36,787 meters), DisCo-financed projects (1,074), and vendor-financed installations (620). The national metering rate now stands at 46.98%, indicating more than half of Nigerian electricity consumers remain unmetered and are subject to estimated billing.
Customer satisfaction remains a major concern. Of the 4,169 complaints escalated to NERC’s Consumer Complaints Unit (CCU), only 1,554 were resolved—a resolution rate of just 37.27%. Overall, the DisCos received 254,404 customer complaints in Q1, down 7.72% from the previous quarter, with billing, metering, and service interruptions as leading issues.
In terms of health and safety, the Commission reported 31 accidents within the quarter, resulting in 14 injuries and 12 fatalities. Investigations into these incidents are ongoing, with NERC promising stricter oversight on safety compliance across the industry.
During Q1 2025, NERC issued 40 regulatory orders and approved 55 licences, permits, and certifications, underscoring its continued focus on sector reforms.
While the zero-grid-collapse milestone is a laudable achievement and a step towards power sector stabilization, systemic inefficiencies, poor service delivery, and rising losses threaten to reverse the gains. NERC has vowed to increase compliance enforcement, strengthen infrastructure investment oversight, and hold market operators accountable.
As Nigeria continues to navigate power reforms under the 2023 Electricity Act, stakeholders hope that sustained regulatory vigilance and investment will help address long-standing gaps in electricity access, reliability, and efficiency.