Togo, Niger, Benin Owe Nigeria Billions of Naira for Electricity Supply, NERC Discloses Amount
- Togo, Niger and Benin owe Nigeria a combined $17.8 million for electricity supplied
- The debt includes unpaid invoices from Q3 2025 and previous quarters, according to the NERC
- International customers paid only 38.09% of their Q3 electricity bills
Oluwatobi Odeyinka is a business editor at Legit.ng, covering energy, the money market, technology and macroeconomic trends in Nigeria.
Togo, Niger and Benin owe Nigeria a total of $17.8 million (over N25 billion) for electricity supplied under bilateral power agreements, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has disclosed.
Source: Getty Images
The revelation is contained in NERC’s Third Quarter (Q3) 2025 report, which reviewed the commercial performance of Nigeria’s electricity market, PUNCH reported.
According to the commission, the three neighbouring countries were billed $18.69 million for electricity supplied in Q3 2025 but paid only $7.125 million, leaving an outstanding balance of $11.56 million for the quarter.
International customers owe Nigeria $14.7 million
NERC also disclosed that the international customers had unpaid legacy invoices amounting to $14.7 million from previous quarters. Out of this amount, $7.84 million was remitted, leaving an outstanding balance of $6.23 million.
The regulator stated that the combined debt from previous quarters and Q3 2025, therefore, stands at $17.8 million, equivalent to approximately N25.36 billion at an exchange rate of N1,425 to the dollar.
The commission identified the international customers as Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo (CEET), Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique of Benin (SBEE), and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité of Niger (NIGELEC).
According to NERC, the electricity supplied to the three countries was generated by grid-connected Nigerian generation companies and delivered through bilateral cross-border arrangements.
The report noted that the $7.125 million payment made by the international customers in Q3 represented a remittance performance of 38.09 per cent, meaning that more than half of the invoices issued during the quarter remained unpaid.
In contrast, NERC said domestic bilateral customers performed significantly better. They paid N3.19 billion out of the N3.64 billion invoiced to them in Q3 2025, translating to a remittance rate of 87.61 per cent.
The commission added that some bilateral customers, both local and international, also settled parts of outstanding invoices from previous quarters during the review period.
DisCos remitted N381.29 billion
Meanwhile, NERC disclosed that Nigeria’s 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) remitted a total of N381.29 billion to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and the Market Operator in Q3 2025.
This was out of a total invoice of N400.48 billion, representing a remittance performance of 95.21 per cent.
The regulator said the figures were based on reconciled market settlements submitted as of December 18, 2025, in line with its statutory assessment of the electricity market’s commercial performance.
Source: Getty Images
Shortfalls straining Nigeria's electricity – NERC
Legit.ng earlier reported that Benin and Togo, along with other international customers, paid only half of the $17.54 million billed by Nigeria for electricity in the second quarter of 2025.
Reports showed that CEET of Togo made no payment, while SBEE of Benin and NIGELEC of Niger only partially paid their invoices.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission warned that these shortfalls were straining the country’s electricity supply industry.
Source: Legit.ng
