ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-Electricity customers in Togo, Benin and the Niger Republic owed Nigeria about N17.45bn for power supplied in the first quarter of 2026 after paying only 27.57 per cent of the $17.48m billed during the period, according to the latest report by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.
The report showed that the three international bilateral customers remitted a combined $4.82m out of the $17.48m invoiced by the Market Operator, leaving an outstanding balance of $12.66m, equivalent to about N17.45bn at an exchange rate of N1,378 to the dollar.
The outstanding debt comes despite Nigeria’s continued electricity exports to neighbouring West African countries under bilateral power supply agreements with generation companies operating within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.
The recurring debts have continued to worsen the liquidity challenges facing the power sector.
NERC noted that the international bilateral customers recorded significantly weaker payment performance than their domestic counterparts, who settled 95 per cent of their invoices within the same period.
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“The three international bilateral customers being supplied by GenCos in the NESI made a payment of $4.82m against the cumulative invoice of $17.48m issued by the Market Operator for services rendered in 2026/Q1, translating to a remittance performance of 27.57 per cent,” the NERC quarterly report stated.
A breakdown of the remittances showed that Paras-SBEE, which supplies electricity to the Benin Republic, failed to make any payment against its $1.94m invoice, recording zero per cent remittance.
Similarly, Paras-CEET, which exports electricity to Togo, did not make any payment despite receiving an invoice of $1.67m for electricity supplied during the quarter.
Transcorp-SBEE (Ughelli), another supplier to the Benin Republic, remitted $0.90m out of its $4.20m invoice, representing a payment performance of 21.43 per cent.
Transcorp-SBEE (Afam 3) also paid $1.13m against its $2.90m invoice, translating to a remittance performance of 38.97 per cent.
Mainstream-NIGELEC, which supplies electricity to the Niger Republic, recorded the highest payment performance among the international customers, remitting $2.79m out of its $4.45m invoice, representing 62.70 per cent.
However, Odukpani-CEET, another electricity supplier to Togo, failed to make any payment against its $2.29m invoice, maintaining a zero per cent remittance record during the quarter.
Although payment performance for current invoices remained weak, the commission said some international customers settled part of their outstanding debts from previous quarters.
“It is noteworthy that, during Q1 2026, three international and nine domestic bilateral customers made payments of $6.64m and N2.59bn, respectively, towards outstanding MO invoices from previous quarters.
“Specifically, the MO received a total of $4.05m from Société Béninoise d’Energie Electrique, comprising payments for Ughelli ($3.28m) and Paras ($0.77m). In addition, $1.87m was received from Mainstream-Société Nigérienne d’Électricité (NIGELEC) and $0.72m from Paras-Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo (CEET),” the report stated.
In contrast, domestic bilateral customers recorded stronger payment performance during the first quarter, remitting N5.82bn out of the N6.12bn invoiced by the Market Operator, representing a payment rate of 95 per cent.
“The domestic bilateral customers made a cumulative payment of N5.82bn against the invoice of N6.12bn issued to them by the MO for services rendered in 2026/Q1, translating to a 95.00 per cent remittance performance,” NERC said.
The report also revealed that Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and its host community continued their longstanding default in settling electricity bills.
According to the commission, the special customer made no payment against the N676.88m invoice issued by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and the N189.38m invoice issued by the Market Operator during the first quarter.