At least five electricity distribution companies supplied a disproportionate share of power to less commercially viable and poorly accounted feeders in the third quarter of 2025, according to the latest industry performance report released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.The affected DisCos—Benin, Kaduna, Ibadan, Yola, and Port Harcourt—recorded significant negative variances between their Billing Efficiency and Energy Accounting Efficiency, a key regulatory metric used to track how electricity is allocated across customer bands under the Multi-Year Tariff Order.This imbalance resulted in electricity distribution companies losing an estimated N147.92bn to billing inefficiencies in the third quarter of 2025.In its Q3 2025 Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry report, analysed by The PUNCH on Monday, NERC explained that under the MYTO framework, electricity is expected to be allocated fairly across customer bands—Bands A to E—while maintaining consistent accounting efficiency.Where this occurs, the variance between billing efficiency and energy accounting efficiency should remain within a ±2 percentage-point tolerance limit.The report stated: “Billing efficiency of a DisCo is a measure of the ratio of the naira value of energy billed by the DisCo to customers relative to the naira value of the total energy supplied to a given area over a period.“The key drivers of billing losses are technical—energy loss along the distribution network—and commercial—DisCos’ inability to account for 100 per cent of energy supplied. Commercial losses could arise from theft by customers, such as meter bypass, or other factors under the DisCo’s control, including poor customer enumeration and the proliferation of inaccurate meters.