Togo, Others Owe Nigeria $12.66m for Electricity
Nigeria’s electricity regulator says three neighbouring countries owe more than $12.6 million for electricity supplied during the first quarter of 2026 after paying less than one-third of their outstanding invoices.
According to the latest first-quarter report released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), electricity generation companies billed international customers $17.48 million between January and March, but received only $4.82 million, representing a payment rate of 27.57%.
The outstanding balance of $12.66 million relates to electricity supplied to utilities in Benin, Niger and Togo under bilateral supply arrangements.
NERC said Nigeria’s domestic bilateral customers performed significantly better, remitting ₦5.82 billion out of ₦6.12 billion invoiced during the same period, resulting in a payment performance of 95%.
The commission also disclosed that both international and domestic customers made additional payments toward debts accumulated from previous quarters. During the review period, international customers paid $6.64 million, while domestic bilateral customers settled ₦2.59 billion in outstanding invoices.
Breaking down the international payments, NERC said Société Béninoise d’Energie Electrique (SBEE) paid $4.05 million, covering electricity supplied by Ughelli and Paras power plants.
Meanwhile, Société Nigérienne d’Electricité (NIGELEC) remitted $1.87 million, while Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo (CEET) paid $720,000.
The report also highlighted continued non-payment by Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and its host community. NERC said the special customer failed to settle invoices totaling ₦866.26 million, comprising ₦676.88 million billed by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and ₦189.38 million from the Market Operator.
The commission described the non-payment as a longstanding issue and said it has requested intervention from relevant federal government authorities.
The report further showed that electricity distribution companies collected ₦597.56 billion from customers during the first quarter, against total billings of ₦756.93 billion, translating to a collection efficiency of 78.95%.
That represents a slight decline from the 79.36% collection efficiency recorded in the final quarter of 2025, when distribution companies collected ₦630.93 billion from customer billings of ₦795.06 billion.
NERC also reported that the Federal Government spent ₦358.32 billion on electricity subsidies during the quarter because retail tariffs remained below cost-reflective levels.
Although still substantial, the subsidy bill declined by ₦60.46 billion compared with the ₦418.79 billion recorded in the previous quarter. According to the regulator, the reduction was largely due to lower electricity purchases by distribution companies during the period.
