The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), says the Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) customers’ numbers in Nigeria increased from 6.99 million in 2015 to 10.37 million in 2020.

This is according to the NBS Electricity Report 2015-2020 released in Abuja on Monday.

The report focuses on customer numbers, metered customers, estimated billing customers, and most importantly, electricity supply and revenue collected under the reviewed period.

It said the number of customers under the reviewed period (2015-2020) increased successively on a year-on-year basis, with the highest numbers recorded in Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC).

“Generally, the DisCos customers numbers in Nigeria increased consecutively over the last six years. In 2015, 6.99 million customers were recorded, and the figure rose to 7.35 million in the succeeding year.

“This increased further to 7.95 million customers in 2017, showing a growth rate of 8.14 percent.

“While the trend continued, 2018 and 2019 recorded 8.63 million and 9.55 million customers respectively, accounting for an 8.60 percent growth rate in 2018 and a 10.71 percent growth rate in 2019. ”

Subsequently, customer numbers in 2020 stood at 10.37 million, higher by 8.49 percent relative to 2019.

Similarly, the report showed that the number of metered customers increased consecutively on a year-on-year basis from 3.15 million in 2015 to 3.80 million in 2019 but declined to 3.51 million in 2020.

The report said in 2015, Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) recorded the highest number of metered customers, while IBEDC stood top between 2016 and 2019.

According to the report, Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) recorded the highest number of metered customers in 2020.

“AEDC recorded 693,622 customers, followed by IBEDC with 671,035, while Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC) recorded the least with 71,867.”

The report said the estimated billing customers records also showed a year-on-year positive growth rate consecutively from 3.85 million in 2015 to 6.86 million in 2020.

It said in 2020, the customer numbers were highest in IBEDC with 1,282,136, followed by IEDC and Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) with 1,121,722 and 762,311 respectively.

It, however, said Eko Distribution Company (EKEDC) recorded the least with 269,022.

The report showed that electricity supplied to customers under the period of review (2015-2020) showed an unstable trajectory.

“In 2015, 20,337.40 Gigawatt hours (GWh) were supplied across Nigeria. This fell by 6.36 percent in 2016 when 19,044.30 GWh were supplied.

“Also, it rose in 2017 by 2.04 percent with 19,432.39 GWh and further rose in 2018 by 10.55 percent with 21,483.25 GWh.

“In total, electricity supplied in 2019 stood at 22,450.67 GWh but declined in 2020 by 1.82 percent when 22,042.28 GWh were supplied.”

The report said IEDC recorded the highest electricity supplied in 2020 with 4,158.87 GWh, followed by EKEDC and IBEDC with 3,097.87 GWh and 2,841.08 GWh respectively.

AEDC ranked fourth with 2,388.00 GWh, while YEDC recorded the least with 557.00 GWh.

The report revealed that revenue generated by the DisCos in 2015 stood at N278,892.01 million and rose to N303,029.57 million in 2016, showing an 8.65 percent growth rate.

“While in In 2017, revenue had increased by 22.25 percent when N370,455.82 million was received. Furthermore, collections rose by 19.48 percent in 2018, recording N442,630.09 million.

“In addition, this increased by 9.03 percent in 2019 when N482,610.35 million was collected. In 2020, positive growth was recorded with 9.15 percent when N526,769.33 million was collected compared to the previous year.”

The report said the highest revenue collected in 2020 was by IEDC with N102,100.09 million, followed by EKEDC with N81,387.10 million. The least collection was recorded in YEDC with N10,641.00 million.