The number of electricity consumers rose by 410,000 from 11.71 million in the third quarter of 2023 to 12.12 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) stated in its Electricity Report for the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2023 released in Abuja on Monday, that the increase was by 3.46%.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the review focuses on energy billed, revenue generated, and customers by DISCOS under the reviewed period.
It stated that on a year-on-year basis, the number of electricity customers increased by 9.59% in Q4 2023 from 11.06 million reported in Q4 2022. It said in Q4 2023, the number of metered customers stood at 5.61 million compared with the 5.68 million recorded in Q3 2023, this indicated a 1.32% decrease.
“On a year-on-year basis, the figure grew by 9.38% from the 5.13 million reported in Q4 2022,” the NBS stated.
Similarly, estimated electricity customers stood at 5.83 million in Q4 2023, showing a decrease of 3.34% over the 6.03 million recorded in Q3 2023.
“On a year-on-year basis, estimated customers decreased by 1.73% in Q4 2023 from the 5.93 million recorded in Q4 2022.”
The NBS also said that electricity distribution companies collected ₦294.95 billion in revenue in Q4 2023 compared with the ₦260.16 billion they collected in Q3 2023.
It added that on a year-on-year basis, revenue collected rose by 26.96% over the ₦232.32 billion collected in the fourth quarter of 2022. It stated that electricity supply was 6,432 (Gwh) in the fourth quarter of 2023 from 5,732 (Gwh) recorded in the third quarter of the year.
However, the report said on a year-on-year basis, electricity supply increased by 14.64% in Q4 2023 compared with the 5,611 (Gwh) reported in Q4 2022.