Nigeria Faces $9.55 Million Unpaid Electricity Debt from Benin, Togo, and Niger
Nigeria’s power generation companies are grappling with a significant revenue shortfall after three West African neighbors—Benin, Togo, and Niger—failed to settle nearly half of their electricity bills for the fourth quarter of 2025. According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the outstanding debt amounts to $9.55 million (approximately N13.07 billion), reflecting a payment performance of just 53.28 percent.
In total, invoices worth $20.44 million were issued to the three countries, but only $10.89 million was remitted during the period. The shortfall highlights ongoing challenges in Nigeria’s electricity export arrangements, even as domestic power supply remains inconsistent.
Among the companies involved, Benin’s Paras-SBEE paid 68.16 percent of its $2.45 million invoice, while Paras-CEET in Togo settled 64.97 percent of its $2.18 million bill. Transcorp-SBEE (Afam 3) in Benin performed strongly, remitting 82.31 percent of its $3.90 million invoice. However, Transcorp-SBEE (Ughelli) in Benin paid only 12.30 percent of its $3.74 million bill, and Odukpani-CEET in Togo made no payment at all on its $2.18 million invoice. Niger’s Mainstream-NIGELEC settled 68.63 percent of its $5.96 million bill.
The figures, based on reconciled market settlements submitted to NERC as of April 2, 2026, underscore the difficulty Nigeria faces in recovering payments for electricity exports. The unpaid $9.55 million for a single quarter represents a growing concern for the country’s power generation sector, which relies on these revenues to sustain operations.
This development comes amid Nigeria’s own electricity supply challenges, raising questions about the sustainability of export agreements when domestic needs are not fully met. The significant unpaid balance could prompt a review of billing and collection mechanisms to ensure more reliable remittance from international customers in the future.
