The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has disclosed that Benin Republic and Togo owe Nigeria $88.84 million for electricity consumed in the fourth quarter of 2024.
This was revealed in the commission’s latest report, which detailed outstanding debts owed by international and domestic customers within the Nigerian electricity supply industry.
According to the report, six international bilateral customers received electricity from Nigerian power generation companies (Gencos) but collectively paid only $5.21 million out of the total $14.05 million invoiced for the quarter, resulting in a remittance performance of just 37.08 percent.
The international companies involved include Paras-SBEE in Benin Republic, which owes $2.65 million, and Paras-CEET, also in Benin, with an outstanding balance of $1.64 million. Transcorp-SBEE (Ughelli) in Benin paid $1.71 million out of its $3.59 million invoice, while Transcorp-SBEE (Afam 3) paid $0.90 million out of $1.2 million. Odukpani-CEET in Togo has an unpaid balance of $2.37 million.
The report indicates that only Mainstream-NIGELEC fully settled its $2.60 million invoice for the quarter. Some of the international customers also made partial payments toward debts from previous quarters, with Paras-CEET paying $0.98 million, Paras-SBEE $0.7 million, and Transcorp-SBEE $1.3 million.
On the domestic front, Nigerian bilateral customers paid ₦1.25 million against an invoice of ₦1.98 million for the last quarter of 2024, reflecting a 63.36 percent remittance performance. Several domestic customers made partial payments toward outstanding debts, including NDPHC-Weewood, which remitted ₦21.17 million; North South/Star Pipe, ₦11 million; Taopex, ₦83 million; and Trans-Amadi (OAU/FMPI), ₦20.74 million. However, Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and its host community failed to make any payments for the ₦1.27 billion invoiced by the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) and ₦0.11 billion by the Market Operator.
The report further revealed that electricity distribution companies in Nigeria generated ₦509.84 billion in revenue in the last three months of 2024, representing 77.44 percent of the ₦658.40 billion billed to customers. NERC noted that this collection efficiency was 2.89 percentage points higher than in the previous quarter.
