Poor remittance by Togo, Benin and Niger drags payment performance below 40% in Q3 2025
Nigeria is currently owed $17.8 million, equivalent to over ₦25 billion at prevailing exchange rates by international customers for electricity supplied under bilateral power agreements, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The outstanding debt was disclosed in NERC’s Third Quarter 2025 report, which revealed that Togo, Benin Republic and Niger Republic failed to fully settle invoices issued for electricity supplied during the period.
According to the report, the three countries were jointly billed $18.69 million by the Market Operator (MO) for power supplied in the third quarter of 2025 but remitted only $7.125 million, leaving an unpaid balance of $11.56 million for the quarter alone.
The international offtakers identified by the regulator are Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo (CEET), Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique (SBEE) of Benin, and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité (NIGELEC) of Niger.
Electricity supplied to the three countries was generated by grid-connected Nigerian generation companies (GenCos) and delivered under bilateral cross-border power supply arrangements within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
NERC further disclosed that the international customers already had legacy debts amounting to $14.7 million from previous quarters. While $7.84 million was paid toward these outstanding invoices, a balance of $6.23 million remained unpaid.
When combined with the unpaid Q3 2025 invoices, the total outstanding debt rose to $17.8 million, which translates to approximately ₦25.36 billion, based on an exchange rate of ₦1,425 to the dollar.
The Commission noted that the $7.125 million payment made in Q3 represented a remittance performance of just 38.09 per cent, meaning that more than half of the invoices issued to international bilateral customers remained unpaid at the end of the quarter.
“The three international bilateral customers being supplied by GenCos in the NESI made a payment of $7.12 million against the cumulative invoice of $18.69 million issued by the MO for services rendered in 2025/Q3, translating to a remittance performance of 38.09 per cent,” NERC stated.
The regulator added that some of the payments received during the quarter were applied to outstanding invoices from earlier periods, rather than the current billing cycle.
“It is noteworthy that some bilateral customers also made payments for outstanding MO invoices from previous quarters. The MO received $7.84 million from international bilateral customers and ₦1.3 billion from domestic bilateral customers,” the report noted.
In contrast, domestic bilateral customers recorded significantly better payment performance. NERC said local customers remitted ₦3.19 billion out of the ₦3.64 billion invoiced during the quarter, representing a remittance rate of 87.61 per cent.
“The domestic bilateral customers made a cumulative payment of ₦3.19 billion against the invoice of ₦3.64 billion issued to them by the MO for services rendered in 2025/Q3,” the Commission said.
The report also showed improved remittance by Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies (DisCos). According to NERC, the 11 DisCos paid a combined ₦381.29 billion to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) and the Market Operator in Q3 2025, out of a total invoice of ₦400.48 billion. This represents a 95.21 per cent remittance performance.
NERC explained that the figures were derived from reconciled market settlement data submitted to the Commission as of December 18, 2025, as part of its statutory review of the commercial performance of the electricity market.
Nigeria currently supplies electricity to neighbouring countries using surplus generation capacity. However, the Commission noted that persistent payment defaults by international customers continue to pose challenges, particularly amid domestic generation constraints and liquidity pressures within the power sector.
Recent regulatory actions, including restrictions on electricity exports, were introduced to prioritise local demand and address payment indiscipline, resulting in reduced cross-border supply levels.
Despite these measures, the report indicates that unpaid electricity bills from international customers remain a recurring issue, raising concerns about the sustainability of regional power supply arrangements.
