Federal Government paid only ₦371.34 million, 0.019 per cent settlement
The Federal Government’s electricity subsidy rose sharply from ₦610 billion in 2023 to ₦1.94 trillion in 2024—a staggering 219.7% increase—even after the April 2024 tariff hike. Analysts attribute the spike to the naira’s float and the fuel subsidy removal early last year.
According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), only ₦371.34 million of the ₦1.94 trillion obligation was settled—just 0.019%. NERC stated that “due to the absence of cost-reflective tariffs across all DisCos in 2024, the government incurred a subsidy obligation of ₦1.94 trillion … which translates to an average of ₦161.85 billion per month.”
Subsidy obligations peaked at ₦633.3 billion in the first quarter of 2024—303% higher than Q1 2023—before dropping 40% in Q2 following tariff adjustments for Band A customers. However, freezes on customer tariffs later in the year pushed Q3 and Q4 obligations to ₦464.12 billion and ₦471.69 billion respectively.