Togo, Niger, Benin owe Nigeria N25bn for electricity – NERC

Togo, Niger, and Benin owe Nigeria $17.8m, an equivalent of over N25bn at the current exchange rate, for electricity supplied under bilateral arrangements, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has said.

In its Third Quarter 2025 report, NERC disclosed that the three international customers were invoiced a total of $18.69m by the Market Operator for electricity supplied during the period, but they remitted only $7.125m, leaving an outstanding balance of $11.56m.

Similarly, the international bilateral customers had legacy invoices of $14.7m, out of which they paid $7.84m, leaving a balance of $6.23m. The PUNCH reports that the debt incurred from the previous quarters and that of Q3 2025 amounted to $17.8m. This is N25.36bn at an exchange rate of N1,425 to a dollar.

The regulator 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.

According to NERC, the three international bilateral customers purchasing power from the grid-connected GenCos made a cumulative payment of $7.125m against the $18.69m invoice issued to them by the Market Operator for services rendered in 2025/Q3.

It stated that the remittance level represented a 38.09 per cent remittance performance, with more than half of the invoices remaining unpaid at the end of the quarter.

It was noted that the electricity supplied to the three countries was generated by grid-connected Nigerian generation companies and delivered through bilateral cross-border power arrangements.