Bayo Adelabu, Nigeria’s Minister of Power, has expressed disappointment in the performance of electricity distribution companies (DisCos), accusing them of undermining the federal government’s efforts to improve electricity supply across the country.
Speaking at a two-day retreat convened by the Senate Committee on Power, Adelabu criticized the DisCos for failing to meet performance expectations.
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His remarks were contained in a statement issued on Tuesday by his Special Adviser on Strategic Communication and Media Relations, Bolaji Tunji.
“We need to get tough with the DisCos, as they can easily frustrate all the gains we have made,” the minister said.
“They have disappointed us in performance expectations. Whatever we do in generation does not mean anything to consumers if it is frustrated at the distribution points.”
Adelabu pointed out that when the power sector was restructured in 2003, the DisCos were expected to partner with technical experts to enhance capacity.
However, he noted that many of these partnerships—especially with foreign firms—collapsed within just three months of the asset handover.
“Instead of investing in infrastructure, many used bank loans for asset acquisition and redirected funds to repay those loans,” Adelabu said.
Despite the positive impact of recent tariff reforms—leading to a 70 percent boost in market liquidity and pushing total sector revenue from N1 trillion in 2023 to N1.7 trillion in 2024—the minister said the distribution arm of the value chain remains the most problematic.
“In the fourth quarter of 2024, DisCos in the North remitted just N124.4 billion (30 percent) of their N408.86 billion invoice, with Abuja DisCo accounting for 85 percent of Northern payments. Southern DisCos fared slightly better, remitting N254.6 billion (67 percent), though 70 percent of this came from Lagos DisCos alone,” he said.
“These discrepancies are largely due to crumbling infrastructure outside economic hubs, where underinvestment has left networks dilapidated.”
Adelabu also raised concerns about the ongoing metering deficit, which he said continues to erode revenue and fuel customer dissatisfaction.
To address this, he said the federal government has rolled out a N700 billion Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) alongside a World Bank-supported scheme that aims to install 4.3 million meters nationwide by 2025.
He warned that the sector is currently burdened with a staggering N4 trillion subsidy backlog, including N1.94 trillion already projected for 2024 alone.
Given the monthly shortfall of N200 billion required to cover subsidies, Adelabu said the current tariff structure is no longer financially viable and jeopardizes future investments in infrastructure.
“To salvage the sector, we will soon embark on restructuring underperforming DisCos and tightening enforcement of performance benchmarks,” Adelabu said.
“Without urgent capital injection into distribution networks, gains in generation—including a historic 6,003MW output in March 2025—and transmission upgrades, such as 61 new transformers deployed in 2024, will fail to translate to reliable household supply.”
The minister also outlined steps to attract private capital into grid development and to decentralize the transmission system into regional networks in order to reduce system failures.
He emphasized that the relatively higher remittance rate of 70 percent recorded by Lagos DisCos reflects the stronger infrastructure in that region, in stark contrast to the North, where the distribution framework is significantly weaker.
Adelabu concluded by urging lawmakers to pass tougher laws to protect Nigeria’s power infrastructure from acts of vandalism.
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