Benin, Togo, Niger indebted to Nigeria to tune of $11.57m over power supply – NERC

 

Nigeria is owed $11.57 million by Benin Republic, Togo and Niger for electricity supplied to the three countries in the third quarter of 2025, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has disclosed.

According to NERC’s Q3 2025 report, the indebtedness arose from bilateral electricity supply arrangements between Nigerian electricity generation companies (GenCos) and the neighbouring countries.

The commission said the market operator (MO) issued a total invoice of $18.69 million to the international customers during the period under review, but only $7.12 million was remitted, representing a 38.09 per cent payment performance.

The international offtakers listed by the regulator are Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique (Benin Republic) and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité (Niger Republic).

“The three international bilateral customers supplied by GenCos within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) made a total payment of $7.12 million against a cumulative invoice of $18.69 million issued for services rendered in Q3 2025,” NERC stated.

On the domestic front, the commission said local bilateral customers remitted ₦3.19 billion out of the ₦3.64 billion invoiced by the MO during the same period, translating to a remittance performance of 87.61 per cent.

NERC also disclosed that some customers made additional payments to clear outstanding invoices from previous quarters. According to the report, the MO received $7.84 million from international bilateral customers and ₦1.30 billion from domestic customers as arrears.

However, the commission expressed concern over the continued non-payment by Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and its host community, described as a special customer. It said the company failed to pay a ₦1.03 billion invoice issued by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc, as well as an additional ₦100 million billed by the MO in the quarter under review.

NERC noted that the non-remittance reflects a longstanding pattern and confirmed that it has drawn the attention of relevant federal government authorities to the matter for urgent intervention.