The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has reported that Togo and Benin Republic owe Nigeria a substantial $14.19 million for electricity supplied in the first quarter of 2024. Despite receiving power from Nigerian generation companies (GenCos), neither country has made any payments towards the outstanding invoices.
The debts are attributed to four international customers: Para-SBEE in Benin, owing $3.15 million; Transcorp-SBEE in Benin, owing $4.46 million; Mainstream-NIGELEC in Togo, owing $1.21 million; and Odukpani-CEET in Togo, owing $5.36 million. These companies have not settled their bills for the electricity exported to them, according to NERC’s report.
This non-payment is part of a larger issue affecting both international and local customers within Nigeria. Local customers also failed to pay $1.88 million for services rendered during the same period. While some payments were made towards previous debts—$5.96 million from two international customers and ₦505.71 million from eight local customers—the overall trend of delayed payments has raised concerns.
NERC has urged the Market Operator, a division of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) responsible for managing power exports, to enforce stricter measures to address this ongoing payment default. The commission highlighted the need for stricter enforcement of market rules to ensure timely payments and maintain the financial health of Nigeria’s electricity supply industry.
This issue follows a troubling pattern from 2023, when international consumers failed to remit approximately $51.26 million for electricity supplied by Nigeria. The unpaid bills continue to strain the country’s power sector, with NERC calling for decisive action to curb this persistent problem.
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