Togo, Niger, Benin owe Nigeria $11.2 million for electricity

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has revealed that Nigeria’s neighbors, Togo, Niger and Benin, owe the country $11.16 million for electricity supplied by power generation companies (GenCos) under bilateral agreements by 2025.

The commission, which announced this in its 2025 annual report, said market operators (MO) issued invoices worth a total of $73.91 million to international customers, but only $62.75 million was paid.

NERC listed the international buyers as Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique of Benin, and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité of Niger.

“International bilateral customers (i.e., Societe Nigerienne d’electricite – NIGELEC, Societe Beninoise d’Energie Electrique – SBEE and Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo – CEET) received a total invoice of $73.91 million for additional services provided by MO and made total payments of $62.75 million, equivalent to a remittance performance of 84.90%,” NERC said.

The Commission also reported that domestic bilateral customers remitted N12.75 trillion compared to N13.20 trillion billed by market operators for services provided in 2025.

According to NERC, the payments represent a remittance performance of 96.60 percent.
The commission also said Ajaokuta Steel Co. Ltd and the host communities, which are classified as special customers, did not make payments on N4.96 billion invoices issued by Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc and N500 million invoices issued by MO during the period under review.

“The Commission has escalated the issue of persistent non-payment of electricity bills by Ajaokuta to the relevant federal ministry to find a long-term solution. Failure to resolve the obligations may put the Ajaokuta complex at risk of being disconnected from its service providers (NBET and MO) due to huge debts,” the report added.

NERC stated that the total energy absorption by all distribution companies (DisCos) in 2025 was 31,251.77GWh, while the total energy billed reached 25,867.86GWh.
The Commission said the figure yields a market energy accounting efficiency (EAE) of 82.77 percent.