In the first quarter of the year, Nigeria's total electricity generation dropped by 901.94 GWh compared to the previous quarter of Q4, 2023.
This indicates a decline of 9.1% from 9,789.87GWh in 2023/Q4 to 8,887.93GWh in the period under review.
This is according to the 2024 first quarter report by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) which states that the average hourly power generation across available generation units also declined by 8.22% in the quarter.
The report noted that the average available generation capacity across all power plants in the country dropped to 4,249.10MW in Q1 of 2024- reflecting a decrease of 13.68% (or 673.16MW) compared to the 4,922.26MW recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.
It explained that the decline was caused by reduced generation capacities of 17 of the 27 grid-connected power plants reported in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous quarter.
The report states, "In 2024/Q1, the average hourly generation of available units decreased by -8.22% (-364.25MWh/h) from 4,433.82MWh/h in 2023/Q4 to 4,069.57MWh/h. The total electricity generated in the quarter also decreased by -9.21% 1 (- 901.94GWh) from 9,789.87GWh in 2023/Q4 to 8,887.93GWh (Figure B). The decrease in gross energy generation during the quarter was primarily due to the decrease in the available generation capacities of the grid-connected power plants compared to 2023/Q4."
Energy offtake and revenue collection of Discos
Furthermore, the average energy offtake by Distribution Companies (DisCos) at their trading points in Q1 2024 dropped to 3,283.87MWh/h, marking a decline of 429.29MWh/h, or 11.56%, compared to the 3,713.16MWh/h recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.
While average energy offtake by Discos declined in the first quarter, revenue collected by Discos from final consumers increased by 5.32% points from 73.79% in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 79.11% in the quarter under review. In total, electricity distribution companies collected N291.62 billion out of N368.65 billion billed in the quarter.
Meter installation during the quarter
Between January and March 2024, a total of 123,604 meters were installed, marking a 7.31% increase with 8,423 more installations compared to the 115,181 meters installed in the fourth quarter of 2023.
This boost in installations contributed to a 0.40 percentage point rise in the net end-user metering rate within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), which climbed from 44.39% in the fourth quarter of 2023 to 44.79% in the first quarter of 2024.
Complaints of electricity customers
In the first quarter of 2024, Distribution Companies (DisCos) received a total of 291,380 complaints from consumers, reflecting a decrease of 6.22% or 19,337 fewer complaints compared to the 310,717 complaints recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The report noted that the most common issues reported by customers were related to metering, billing, and service interruptions, which collectively accounted for more than 75% of the total complaints during the quarter.
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