- Togo, Niger, Benin owe Nigeria $17.8m (₦25bn+) for electricity
- Only 38% of international power bills were paid in Q3 2025
- Domestic customers recorded over 87% payment performance
- Ajaokuta Steel failed to pay ₦1.13bn electricity invoice
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has revealed that three neighbouring countries: Togo, Niger, and Benin owe Nigeria $17.8 million, an amount equivalent to more than ₦25 billion at the current exchange rate, for electricity supplied under bilateral agreements.
This disclosure was made in NERC’s Third Quarter 2025 report, which showed that international electricity customers failed to fully settle invoices issued for power supplied during the period.
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According to the report, the Market Operator (MO) invoiced the three countries a total of $18.69 million for electricity supplied in Q3 2025. However, only $7.125 million was paid, leaving an outstanding balance of $11.56 million.
The international electricity offtakers listed by NERC include Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique (Benin), and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité (Niger).
“The three international bilateral customers made a payment of $7.12 million against a cumulative invoice of $18.69 million, translating to a remittance performance of 38.09 percent,” NERC stated.
In contrast, domestic bilateral customers performed significantly better, remitting ₦3.19 billion out of the ₦3.64 billion invoiced for the same period.
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NERC noted that this represents an 87.61 percent remittance performance, adding that some customers also cleared parts of outstanding debts from previous quarters
“The Market Operator received $7.84 million from international bilateral customers and ₦1.29 billion from domestic bilateral customers as payments for past invoices,” the commission said.
However, the regulator expressed concern over Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited, classified as a special customer, which failed to make any payment towards its ₦1.03 billion invoice issued by NBET and ₦100 million billed by the Market Operator.
“This continues a longstanding trend of non-payment, and the commission has communicated the need for intervention to relevant federal government authorities,” NERC added.
