A new report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has revealed that 85.2% of Nigerian households still rely on the estimated billing model for their electricity bills.
The findings were published in the 2024 Nigeria Residential Energy Demand Side Survey Report released by the agency on Wednesday.
According to the report, only 14.8% of households used the prepaid billing system during the period covered.
The study focused on nine states across six geopolitical zones: Southwest, Southeast, South-South, Northwest, Northeast, and North-Central, where households consume an average of 6.6 hours of electricity per day. It also shows that you are receiving. This is well below the 20-hour target for Band A customers, who make up 15% of electricity consumers, according to the regulator.
Breakdown of the report by state The report examines various states across Nigeria, including Oyo in the southwest, Enugu in the southeast, Bauchi in the northeast, Kwara in the north-central, Akwa Ibom in the south-south and Sokoto in the northwest.
Further analysis of the estimated billing system at the state level highlights that Bauchi State recorded the highest percentage of users utilizing the system at 97.9%.
Sokoto State followed at 97.3%, while Plateau State reported the lowest reliance on estimated claims at 69.1%.
Conversely, prepaid billing systems showed a different pattern. Plateau State had the highest adoption rate of prepaid meters, with 30.9% of consumers using the system, followed by Oyo State with 27.6%.
Bauchi State, which primarily uses a quote billing system, had the lowest rate of prepayment meter adoption, with only 2.1% of residents using them.
monthly electricity bill
The report also provides insight into the average electricity bills incurred by households across the country. On average, a household spends an estimated N4,155.8 Naira per month on electricity bills.
Further analysis by state revealed that Enugu State recorded the highest average monthly electricity expenditure at NGN 7,319.4, followed by Plateau State at NGN 6,153.6, while Bauchi State recorded the lowest at NGN 2,647.7.
Additionally, among households with access to solar power across the surveyed states, 90.9% utilized residential solar power systems and 9.1% relied on solar mini-grids during the reference period.
What you need to know
In early 2024, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) directed 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to set aside NOK 275 billion for meter procurement from 2024 to 2027.
Power Minister Bayo Adelabu estimates that between 7 million and 8 million customers remain unmetered across the country.
To support this, the World Bank introduced a $500 million metering program, allocating $155 million to provide meters to consumers and $345 million to help discos strengthen their electricity supply. Ta.
Nairametrics had earlier reported that Adelabu had confirmed that the government had received part of the World Bank allocation for the 1.8 million meters en route to Nigeria to address the issue of estimated billing.
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