{
  "id": 4741627,
  "title": "Electricity losses cost DisCos N2.47tn in six years",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/31/electricity-losses-cost-discos-n2-47tn-in-six-years",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-08-31T23:50:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Punch Nigeria",
    "slug": "punch-nigeria",
    "url": "https://punchng.com/electricity-losses-cost-discos-n2-47tn-in-six-years/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nigeria's electricity distribution companies (DisCos) lost about N2.47tn worth of unbilled electricity between 2020 and 2025, according to an analysis of annual reports by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission. The value of unbilled electricity rose from N281.86bn in 2020 to N622.31bn in 2025, a 121% increase over the six-year period. The discrepancy highlighted the financial gap between the electricity delivered and the amount billed to customers. Factors contributing to the losses include electricity theft, meter bypasses, technical inefficiencies, inaccurate metering, and poor customer enumeration. Despite an improvement in billing efficiency, the absolute naira value of the gap continued to grow due to the increasing value of electricity supplied.",
  "summary": "Meter bypass, electricity theft, poor metering and other commercial and technical losses cost Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies about N2.47tn in unbilled electricity between 2020 and 2025, The PUNCH reports. An analysis of annual reports released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission revealed that the value of unbilled electricity rose steadily from N281.86bn in 2020 to…",
  "key_points": [
    "DisCos lost N2.47tn in unbilled electricity from 2020-2025",
    "Unbilled electricity rose 121% from N281.86bn to N622.31bn",
    "Losses due to theft, meter issues, technical inefficiencies"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The widening gap between electricity delivered and amount billed to customers undermines the financial sustainability of Nigeria's electricity distribution companies, as losses from unbilled electricity continue to surge.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Punch",
        "title": "Electricity losses cost DisCos N2.47tn in six years",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/01/electricity-losses-cost-discos-n2-47tn-in-six-years",
        "published": "2026-09-01T00:02:39.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}