Electricity customers in Togo, Benin and the Niger Republic owe Nigeria about N17.45 billion for power supplied in the first quarter of 2026.
This is according to data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) quarterly report.
The data showed that the countries, however, remitted 27.57 per cent of the $17.48 million billed to them during the period.
According to the report, the three international bilateral customers collectively paid $4.82 million out of the $17.48 million invoiced by the Market Operator, leaving an outstanding debt of $12.66 million, equivalent to about N17.45 billion at an exchange rate of N1,378 to the dollar.
The development came despite Nigeria’s continued electricity exports to neighbouring West African countries under bilateral power supply agreements with generation companies operating in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.
The debts 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.
A breakdown of the payments showed that Paras-SBEE, which supplies electricity to the Benin Republic, failed to make any payment against its $1.94 million invoice, recording a zero per cent remittance performance.
Another bilateral customer, Paras-CEET, supplying electricity to Togo, also paid nothing despite receiving an invoice of $1.67 million for electricity supplied during the quarter. Transcorp-SBEE (Ughelli), another supplier to the Benin Republic, remitted only $0.90 million out of its $4.20 million invoice, representing a payment performance of 21.43 per cent.
Similarly, Transcorp-SBEE (Afam 3) paid $1.13 million against its invoice of $2.90 million, 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 $2.79 million out of its $4.45 million invoice, representing a payment performance of 62.70 per cent.
However, Odukpani-CEET, another supplier to Togo, did not remit any payment against its $2.29 million 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.
