‎Togo, Benin, Niger Owe Nigeria N17.45bn for Electricity as Payment Defaults Persist ‎

Three West-Africa countries, namely Benin, Togo and the Niger Republic have accumulated an estimated N17.45 billion debt to Nigeria for electricity supplied in the first quarter of 2026, after paying just 27.57 per cent of the $17.48 million billed during the period.

‎According to the latest report by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, the three neighbouring countries remitted only $4.82 million, leaving an outstanding balance of $12.66 million, equivalent to about N17.45 billion at an exchange rate of N1,378 to the dollar.

‎The debt persists despite Nigeria’s continued export of electricity to the three West African countries under bilateral power supply agreements with power generation companies operating within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

‎The debts which recur every quarter, contributing to the liquidity crisis in the power sector. According to the commission, the international customers recorded significantly weaker payment performance than domestic bilateral customers, who remitted 95 per cent of their invoices during the same period.

‎“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 payments showed that Paras-SBEE, which supplies electricity to the Benin Republic, failed to make any payment against its $1.94m invoice, recording a zero per cent remittance performance.

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Another bilateral customer, Paras-CEET, supplying electricity to Togo, also paid nothing despite receiving an invoice of $1.67m for electricity supplied during the quarter. Transcorp-SBEE (Ughelli), another supplier to the Benin Republic, remitted only $0.90m out of its $4.20m invoice, representing a payment performance of 21.43 per cent.

Similarly, Transcorp-SBEE (Afam 3) paid $1.13m against its invoice of $2.90m, translating to a remittance performance of 38.97 per cent.

Mainstream-NIGELEC, which exports electricity to the Niger Republic, emerged as the best-performing international customer, remitting $2.79m out of its $4.45m invoice, representing a payment performance of 62.70 per cent.

‎However, Odukpani-CEET, another supplier to Togo, did not remit any payment against its $2.29m invoice, maintaining a zero per cent remittance record for the period.

‎Although the remittance performance for current invoices remained poor, the commission disclosed that some international customers made payments towards debts accumulated in 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.

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‎“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.

Punch report that in a contrast, domestic bilateral customers posted stronger payment performance during the review period. According to the commission, they paid N5.82bn out of the N6.12bn invoiced by the Market Operator, representing a remittance performance 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 further showed that Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and its host community continued their longstanding failure to pay electricity bills.

‎The commission disclosed that 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.

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