Nigeria is owed more than ₦25 billion in unpaid electricity bills by three neighbouring West African countries—Togo, Niger and Benin—according to data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The outstanding debt arose from power supplied under cross-border bilateral electricity agreements and highlights ongoing challenges in recovering revenues from international power customers.
In its Third Quarter (Q3) 2025 Electricity Market Report, NERC disclosed that the three countries collectively owe $17.8 million, which translates to approximately ₦25.36 billion at the prevailing exchange rate of ₦1,425 to the dollar. The report provides a detailed breakdown of invoices issued, payments received, and accumulated arrears from both the current and previous quarters.
According to the regulator, the international customers—identified as Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique of Benin, and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité of Niger—were invoiced a total of $18.69 million by the Market Operator for electricity supplied during the third quarter of 2025. However, they collectively remitted only $7.125 million during the period, leaving an unpaid balance of $11.56 million for the quarter alone.
Beyond the current quarter, NERC revealed that the same international customers also carried over legacy debts from previous billing periods. These earlier invoices amounted to $14.7 million, of which only $7.84 million was paid, resulting in an outstanding balance of $6.23 million. When combined with the unpaid Q3 2025 invoices, the total debt owed by the three countries stood at $17.8 million as of the end of the reporting period.
The commission noted that the payment performance of the international bilateral customers was significantly weak. Their remittance of $7.125 million against the $18.69 million billed in Q3 represents a 38.09 per cent remittance rate, meaning that more than 60 per cent of the invoices for the quarter remained unpaid by the end of September 2025.
NERC explained that the electricity supplied to Togo, Niger and Benin was generated by grid-connected Nigerian generation companies (GenCos) and exported through established bilateral cross-border power supply arrangements within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). These agreements are designed to promote regional power trade and generate foreign exchange earnings for Nigeria, but persistent payment shortfalls have continued to undermine their financial benefits.
In contrast to the international customers, domestic bilateral electricity customers demonstrated a much stronger payment record during the same period. According to the report, domestic bilateral offtakers paid ₦3.19 billion out of the ₦3.64 billion invoiced to them in Q3 2025, translating to a remittance performance of 87.61 per cent. This sharp contrast underscores the relatively higher compliance level among local power purchasers compared to international buyers.
NERC also clarified that some bilateral customers—both domestic and international—made additional payments during the quarter to settle outstanding invoices from previous periods. Specifically, the Market Operator received $7.84 million from international bilateral customers and ₦1.3 billion from domestic bilateral customers toward arrears accrued in earlier quarters. While these payments helped reduce legacy debts, they were insufficient to offset the accumulation of new outstanding balances, particularly on the international side.
Beyond bilateral power sales, the report provided insight into the broader financial performance of Nigeria’s electricity market. NERC disclosed that the country’s 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) remitted a combined ₦381.29 billion to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) and the Market Operator during Q3 2025. This was out of a total invoice of ₦400.48 billion, resulting in a relatively strong remittance performance of 95.21 per cent.
The commission noted that these figures were derived from reconciled market settlement data submitted to NERC as of December 18, 2025, in line with its statutory responsibility to monitor and assess the commercial health of the Nigerian electricity market.
Analysts say the rising debt owed by neighbouring countries raises questions about the sustainability of Nigeria’s cross-border electricity supply arrangements, especially at a time when the domestic power sector continues to grapple with liquidity constraints, infrastructure deficits, and generation shortfalls. While regional power trade remains an important diplomatic and economic tool, experts argue that stronger enforcement mechanisms and clearer payment guarantees may be required to protect Nigeria’s financial interests.
For now, the NERC report highlights a familiar challenge in the power sector: strong electricity demand beyond Nigeria’s borders, but persistent difficulties in converting that demand into timely and full revenue inflows.
Source: Africa Publicity
