Nigeria is grappling with an outstanding electricity debt of $17.8m, valued at about N25bn, owed by Togo, Niger and Benin for power supplied through bilateral cross-border arrangements, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has disclosed.
According to NERC’s Third Quarter 2025 report, the three neighbouring countries were billed a total of $18.69m for electricity delivered during the quarter. However, only $7.13m was paid, leaving a shortfall of $11.56m.
The commission added that unresolved invoices from earlier quarters amounted to $14.7m. While $7.84m of this sum was eventually settled, an outstanding balance of $6.23m persisted. When combined with the current quarter’s unpaid bills, the total debt stood at $17.8m, equivalent to N25.36bn at an exchange rate of N1,425 to the dollar.
NERC identified the defaulting offtakers as Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité. It explained that the electricity supplied was produced by Nigeria’s grid-connected generation companies and transmitted under existing bilateral power supply agreements.
The regulator expressed concern over the poor remittance record of the international customers, noting that they recorded a payment performance of just 38.09 per cent during the period under review.
In contrast, domestic bilateral customers posted a stronger showing, paying N3.19bn out of the N3.64bn invoiced in the third quarter, representing an 87.61 per cent remittance rate.
The report also showed improved compliance among local operators, as Nigeria’s 11 electricity distribution companies remitted N381.29bn to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and the Market Operator from a total bill of N400.48bn in Q3 2025. This translated to a payment performance of 95.21 per cent.
NERC noted that the figures were based on reconciled market settlements submitted to the commission as of December 18, 2025, reflecting steady progress in domestic market discipline amid lingering concerns over cross-border payment defaults.
