The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission says Togo, Benin and Niger failed to pay $12.66 million of their electricity bills in Q1 2026, remitting only 27.57 per cent of the $17.48 million invoiced to them.
Nigeria’s neighbours are piling up electricity debt, and the numbers aren’t pretty.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) says Togo, Republic of Benin and Niger Republic failed to pay $12.66 million of their electricity bills in the first quarter of 2026, according to the commission’s 2026 Q1 Report released yesterday.
Of the $17.48 million billed to the three international customers, only $4.84 million was remitted — a payment rate of just 27.57 per cent — for energy supplied to them by Generation Companies (GenCos) during the period.
According to the report, “remittances made by bilateral customers (domestic and international) and special customers for invoices issued in 2026/Q1 by the MO: The three international bilateral customers being supplied by GenCos in the NESI made a payment of $4.82 million against the cumulative invoice of $17.48 million issued by the MO for services rendered in 2026/Q1, translating to a remittance performance of 27.57 per cent.”
By contrast, domestic bilateral customers performed far better, paying N5,816.28 million against an invoice of N6,122.35 million — a remittance rate of 95.00 per cent.
NERC also disclosed that during Q1 2026, three international and nine domestic bilateral customers made additional payments of $6.64 million and N2,589.07 million, respectively, towards outstanding invoices from previous quarters.
Breaking down the international payments, the Market Operator (MO) received $4.05 million from Société Béninoise d’Energie Electrique (SBEE), covering payments for Ughelli ($3.28 million) and Paras ($0.77 million). Also received was $1.87 million from Mainstream – Société Nigérienne d’Electricité (NIGELEC), and $0.72 million from Paras – Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo (CEET).
The report further noted that special customer Ajaokuta Steel Co. Ltd and its host community made no payment at all towards invoices of ₦676.88 million (NBET) and ₦189.38 million (MO) received in Q1 2026.
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