Nigeria’s electricity regulator, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), has disclosed that three neighboring countries—Togo, Niger and Benin—owe Nigeria $17.8 million in unpaid electricity bills, equivalent to over N25 billion at current exchange rates. The debt stems from power supplied under bilateral electricity agreements between Nigeria and these three nations.
According to NERC’s Third Quarter 2025 report, the international customers were billed $18.69 million for electricity supplied during the quarter, but only $7.125 million was paid, leaving an unpaid balance of $11.56 million. The report also revealed legacy debts of $14.7 million from previous quarters, of which $7.84 million has been settled, leaving a residual balance of $6.23 million. Combined, the total outstanding debt of $17.8 million is attributed to the international electricity customers—Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique of Benin Republic, and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité of Niger Republic. Collectively, these utilities have paid only 38.09 percent of their billed amount, creating a significant shortfall.
In contrast, domestic bilateral customers in Nigeria demonstrated a stronger payment performance, achieving a remittance rate of 87.61 percent. Some bilateral customers, both international and domestic, made additional payments to offset outstanding invoices from earlier quarters.
NERC reported that Nigeria’s 11 electricity distribution companies remitted a total of N381.29 billion to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and the Market Operator in the third quarter of 2025, representing an overall remittance performance of 95.21 percent. The regulator’s findings are based on reconciled market settlement data submitted as of 18 December 2025, as part of its statutory evaluation of the commercial health and performance of the electricity market. These figures highlight the need for improved payment compliance among international customers to ensure the sustainability of Nigeria’s electricity supply industry.
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