…NERC revealed that the three countries were billed a total of $18.69m
ABUJA, NIGERIA- The iNews Times | Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) says Togo, Niger and Benin are indebted to Nigeria to the tune of $17.8m, equivalent to over N25bn at the current exchange rate for electricity supplied under bilateral power agreements.
In its Third Quarter 2025 report, NERC revealed that the three countries were billed a total of $18.69m by the Market Operator for electricity supplied during the period but paid only $7.125m, leaving an outstanding balance of $11.56m.
The regulator also noted that the international customers had outstanding legacy invoices amounting to $14.7m, of which $7.84m was paid, leaving a balance of $6.23m. The iNews Times reports that the combined debt from previous quarters and Q3 2025 stood at $17.8m, which translates to N25.36bn at an exchange rate of N1,425 to the dollar.
NERC identified the international offtakers as Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique of Benin Republic, and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité of Niger Republic.
According to the commission, the three foreign bilateral customers sourced power from grid-connected Nigerian generation companies and made a cumulative payment of $7.125m against the $18.69m invoice issued for services rendered in the third quarter of 2025.
This payment level, NERC said, represented a remittance performance of 38.09 per cent, with more than half of the invoiced amount still unpaid at the end of the quarter.
It explained that the electricity exported to the three neighbouring countries was produced by grid-connected Nigerian generation companies and delivered through cross-border bilateral power arrangements.
“The three international bilateral customers supplied by GenCos within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry paid $7.12m out of a cumulative invoice of $18.69m for services rendered in Q3 2025, translating to a remittance performance of 38.09 per cent,” the commission stated.
In contrast, NERC reported that domestic bilateral customers recorded stronger performance, remitting N3.19bn out of the N3.64bn billed to them during the quarter, representing a remittance rate of 87.61 per cent.
“The domestic bilateral customers made a cumulative payment of N3.19bn against an invoice of N3.64bn for services rendered in Q3 2025, translating to 87.61 per cent remittance performance,” it added.
The commission further explained that some bilateral customers made payments for electricity purchased in earlier quarters.
“It is noteworthy that some bilateral customers also settled outstanding Market Operator invoices from previous quarters. In this regard, the MO received $7.84m from international bilateral customers and N1.3bn from domestic bilateral customers,” the report stated.
NERC also disclosed that Nigeria’s 11 electricity distribution companies collectively remitted N381.29bn to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and the Market Operator in the third quarter of 2025, out of a total invoice of N400.48bn, representing a remittance performance of 95.21 per cent.
The commission noted that the figures were derived from reconciled market settlements submitted as of December 18, 2025, in line with its statutory assessment of the commercial performance of the electricity market.
