By Adedapo Adesanya
National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said the number of Distribution Companies (DisCos) customers in Nigeria in Q1 and Q2 of 2022 stood at 10.63 million and 10.81 million, respectively.
This is according to the Nigeria Electricity Report for Q1 and Q2 2022 released by the NBS on Tuesday. The report focused on energy bills, revenue generated and customers by DISCOS under the reviewed period.
According to the report, the total number of customers for the period under review indicates a rise of 1.67 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
The report said on a year-on-year basis, the number of customers in Q1 2022 declined by 1.36 per cent from Q1 2021 at 10.78 million. Similarly, the number of customers declined in Q2 2022 by 2.27 per cent from Q2 2021 at 11.06 million.
The report said the number of metered customers stood at 4.79 million in Q1 2022 and 4.96 million in Q2 2022, indicating a 3.53 per cent increase on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
“However, on a year-on-year basis, there were growth rates of 10.71 per cent and 9.54 per cent in Q1 and Q2 2022, respectively, when compared to 4.33 million customers recorded in Q1 2021 and 4.53 million in Q2 2021,” it stated.
The report explained that estimated billing customers stood at 5.84 million in Q1 2022 and 5.85 million in Q2 2022, showing an increase of 0.14 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
“On a year-on-year basis, estimated billing customers declined by 9.45 per cent in Q1 2022, and 10.45 per cent in Q2 2022, when compared to 6.45 million in Q1 2021 and 6.53 million in Q2 2021,” it added.
The report showed that electricity supply in Q1 2022 stood at 5,956 (Gwh) and 5,227 (Gwh) in Q2 2022, showing a decline of 12.23 per cent on a quarter-on-quarter basis.
Nevertheless, according to the report, on a year-on-year basis, electricity supply declined compared to 6,172.19 (Gwh) and 5,882.57 (Gwh) reported in Q1 2021 and Q2 2021, respectively, revealing that revenue generation by the DISCOs stood at 204.74 billion in Q1 2022 and 188.41 billion in Q2 2022.
According to the report, this indicates a 7.97 per cent decline on a quarter-on-quarter basis, stressing that on a year-on-year basis, revenue collected rose by 11.42 per cent and 1.71 per cent, respectively, from 183.74 billion in Q1 2021 and 185.24 billion in Q2 2021.
