Nigeria unpaid electricity debt rises to $17.8m as Togo, Niger and Benin fail to fully pay for power supplied, NERC reports
Togo, Niger, and Benin owe Nigeria a combined $17.8m for electricity supplied under bilateral power arrangements, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has disclosed.
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The debt, equivalent to more than N25bn at the prevailing exchange rate, was revealed in the Commission’s Third Quarter 2025 electricity market report, released in Abuja.
According to the regulator, the three neighbouring countries were invoiced a total of $18.69m for electricity supplied during the third quarter of 2025 but remitted only $7.125m, leaving an outstanding balance of $11.56m for the period.
The report further showed that the international customers also carried forward legacy unpaid invoices amounting to $14.7m from previous quarters.
Out of the legacy debt, only $7.84m was paid, leaving an additional balance of $6.23m outstanding.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission said the combined debt from previous quarters and Q3 2025 brought the total liability of the three countries to $17.8m.
At an exchange rate of N1,425 to the dollar, the unpaid electricity bill translates to approximately N25.36bn.
The regulator identified the international offtakers as Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique of Benin, and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité of Niger.
According to the report, electricity supplied to the three countries was generated by grid connected Nigerian generation companies and delivered through bilateral cross border transmission arrangements.
The Nigeria unpaid electricity debt reflects a weak remittance performance by the international customers, with NERC reporting a payment rate of just 38.09 per cent for the quarter.
NERC noted that more than half of the invoices issued to the foreign utilities remained unpaid at the end of the review period.
In contrast, the Commission said domestic bilateral customers recorded significantly stronger payment performance during the same quarter.
Domestic bilateral customers remitted N3.19bn out of the N3.64bn invoiced to them in Q3 2025, representing a remittance rate of 87.61 per cent.
The Commission explained that some bilateral customers, both domestic and international, made additional payments to settle outstanding invoices from earlier quarters.
It disclosed that the Market Operator received $7.84m from international bilateral customers and N1.3bn from domestic customers as payments for previous obligations.
Beyond bilateral contracts, NERC reported that Nigeria’s 11 electricity distribution companies remitted a combined N381.29bn to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and the Market Operator during the quarter.
The amount represented 95.21 per cent of the N400.48bn total invoice issued to the distribution companies in Q3 2025.
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The Commission said the figures were based on reconciled market settlements submitted as of December 18, 2025, as part of its statutory review of the commercial performance of the Nigerian electricity market.
David Okere is a journalist and contributor to Freelanews.com, covering business, governance, public affairs, and human-interest stories with a commitment to accuracy, balance, and public interest reporting.
