Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) lost more than 1.13 million customers in 2025 as consumers grappled with rising electricity costs and persistent concerns over unreliable power supply, according to findings by Sunday PUNCH.
The decline came despite improvements in electricity supply, record revenue generation and expanded metering across the sector.
Data from the National Bureau of Statistics’ Nigeria Electricity Report: Energy Billed, Revenue Generated and Customers by DISCOs (Q4 2025), compiled using figures from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, showed that the total number of electricity customers dropped sharply during the year, even as key operational indicators improved.
According to the report, the customer base fell from 13.30 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 12.16 million in the corresponding period of 2025, representing a year-on-year decline of 8.52 per cent, or about 1.13 million customers.
The NBS noted that while customer numbers rose slightly by 1.11 per cent from 12.03 million recorded in the third quarter of 2025, the annual comparison reflected a significant contraction.
The decline occurred despite a 6.76 per cent increase in electricity supplied by the Discos, which rose from 6,207.85 gigawatt-hours in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 6,627.56 gigawatt-hours in the same period of 2025.
Revenue collection also recorded strong growth during the period. The report showed that total revenue generated by the Discos increased by 23.75 per cent year-on-year, rising from N509.84 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024 to N630.93 billion in Q4 2025.
On a full-year basis, collections climbed from N1.69 trillion in 2024 to N2.32 trillion in 2025.
Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company posted the highest annual revenue at N440.86 billion, followed by Eko Disco with N420.57 billion and Abuja Disco with N375.95 billion.
Metering also improved significantly. The number of metered customers increased from 6.21 million in 2024 to 6.97 million by the end of 2025, representing a 12.18 per cent year-on-year increase.
As a result, the share of customers on prepaid meters rose from 46.71 per cent in December 2024 to 57.27 per cent in December 2025. Meanwhile, the number of unmetered customers on estimated billing declined by 26.67 per cent, falling from 7.09 million to 5.20 million.
The NBS said metered customers grew by 4.58 per cent from 6.66 million recorded in the previous quarter, while estimated customers continued to decline both quarterly and annually.
Despite these gains in supply, revenue and metering, several electricity distribution companies recorded substantial losses in customer numbers, underscoring the continued impact of high energy costs and consumer dissatisfaction with electricity services.
