The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has alleged that Togo, Niger and Benin owe Nigeria a total of $17.8 million, equivalent to about ₦25.36 billion, for electricity supplied to them under bilateral power arrangements.
The allegation was contained in NERC’s third quarter (Q3) 2025 report, which disclosed that the three countries were invoiced a total of $18.69 million by the Market Operator for electricity supplied during the period.
However, the international customers remitted only $7.125 million, leaving an outstanding balance of $11.56 million for the quarter.
According to the regulator, the international customers also had legacy unpaid invoices amounting to $14.7 million from previous quarters. Of this amount, they paid $7.84 million, leaving a balance of $6.23 million.
NERC said the combined outstanding debts from previous quarters and Q3 2025 therefore stood at $17.8 million, which translates to ₦25.36 billion at an exchange rate of ₦1,425 to one dollar.
NERC identified the international offtakers as Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique of the Republic of Benin, and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité of the Republic of Niger.
It explained that the electricity supplied to the three countries was generated by grid-connected Nigerian generation companies and delivered through bilateral cross-border power arrangements.
The commission stated that the three international bilateral customers made a cumulative payment of $7.125 million against the $18.69 million invoice issued to them by the Market Operator for services rendered in Q3 2025.
It noted that this represented a remittance performance of 38.09 per cent, with more than half of the invoices remaining unpaid at the end of the quarter.
In contrast, NERC said domestic bilateral customers recorded stronger performance during the same period. According to the report, domestic customers remitted a total of ₦3.19 billion out of the ₦3.64 billion invoiced to them in Q3 2025, representing a remittance rate of 87.61 per cent.
The commission also disclosed that some bilateral customers made payments for electricity supplied in earlier quarters. It said the Market Operator received $7.84 million from international bilateral customers and ₦1.3 billion from domestic bilateral customers as payments for outstanding invoices from previous periods.
Meanwhile, NERC reported that Nigeria’s 11 electricity distribution companies remitted a combined ₦381.29 billion to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and the Market Operator in the third quarter of 2025. The amount was paid out of a total invoice of ₦400.48 billion, translating to a remittance performance of 95.21 per cent.
The commission added that the figures were based on reconciled market settlements submitted to it as of December 18, 2025, in line with its statutory assessment of the commercial performance of the Nigerian electricity market.
