Benin, Togo, Niger Owe Nigeria $9.55m in Electricity Debt — Report
Three West African countries — Benin Republic, Togo, and Niger — owe Nigeria a combined $9.55 million for electricity supplied in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the latest industry data.
A report by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) revealed that international customers in the three countries were billed a total of $20.44 million for power supplied during the period but remitted only $10.89 million — a payment rate of 53.28 percent.
This leaves an outstanding balance of $9.55 million, highlighting persistent payment challenges in cross-border electricity trading within the region.
The report noted that the power was supplied through bilateral agreements involving Nigerian generation companies (GenCos) and utilities in the neighbouring countries.
Among the defaulters, Société Béninoise d’Energie Electrique (SBEE) in Benin, Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo (CEET), and Société Nigerienne d’Electricite (NIGELEC) in Niger recorded varying levels of payment performance.
While some contracts posted moderate remittances, others fell significantly short. For instance, a supply deal involving Transcorp and SBEE (Ughelli) recorded just 12.3 percent payment, while another agreement between Odukpani and CEET in Togo saw zero remittance during the period.
Conversely, a few arrangements showed stronger compliance, including Transcorp-SBEE (Afam 3), which achieved over 82 percent payment, and Mainstream-NIGELEC in Niger, which posted about 68.6 percent remittance despite having the highest invoice.
The report also disclosed that SBEE made an additional $3.54 million payment to settle outstanding invoices from previous quarters, while a domestic customer, APLE, paid N141 million toward earlier debts.
In contrast to the weak remittance from international customers, domestic bilateral users within Nigeria demonstrated stronger payment discipline. Local customers paid N3.5 billion out of N4.17 billion billed, representing an 84.23 percent remittance rate.
However, the report flagged the Ajaokuta Steel Company as a major defaulter locally, revealing that it failed to make any payment against a N1.26 billion invoice during the quarter.
NERC stated that the figures were based on reconciled market settlements submitted as of April 2, 2026, underscoring ongoing liquidity concerns in Nigeria’s electricity market, particularly in cross-border supply arrangements.
