Togo, Niger and Benin owe Nigeria a total of $17.8m, equivalent to over N25bn, for electricity supplied under bilateral power arrangements, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
In its Third Quarter 2025 report, the commission said the three countries were invoiced $18.69m for electricity supplied during the period but paid only $7.125m, leaving an outstanding balance of $11.56m. NERC added that the international customers also had legacy invoices of $14.7m, of which $7.84m was paid, resulting in an additional unpaid balance of $6.23m.
The combined outstanding debt from previous quarters and Q3 2025 therefore stood at $17.8m, equivalent to N25.36bn at an exchange rate of N1,425 to the dollar.
Identifying the international offtakers as Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique of Benin, and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité of Niger, NERC said their remittance performance stood at just 38.09 per cent.
“The three international bilateral customers being supplied by GenCos in the NESI made a payment of $7.12m against the cumulative invoice of $18.69m issued by the MO for services rendered in 2025/Q3, translating to a remittance performance of 38.09 per cent,” the commission stated.
In contrast, domestic bilateral customers remitted N3.19bn out of N3.64bn invoiced during the quarter, representing an 87.61 per cent remittance rate, while Nigeria’s 11 electricity distribution companies paid N381.29bn out of N400.48bn invoiced in Q3 2025.