Togo, Niger, Benin owe Nigeria $11m for electricity supplied in 2025

Togo, Benin and Niger owed Nigeria $11.16 million for electricity supplied by Nigerian power generation companies under bilateral arrangements in 2025, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

NERC disclosed this in its 2025 annual report, saying the Market Operator (MO) issued invoices totalling $73.91 million to the three international electricity customers during the year. However, only $62.75 million was paid, leaving an outstanding balance of $11.16 million and representing an 84.90 percent remittance performance.

The international customers identified by NERC are Société Nigérienne d’Électricité (NIGELEC) of Niger, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique (SBEE) of Benin and Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo (CEET). “The international bilateral customers … received a total invoice of $73.91 million for ancillary services provided by the MO and made a total payment of $62.75 million, corresponding to a remittance performance of 84.90%,” NERC said.

The commission also reported that domestic bilateral customers paid N12.75 trillion out of N13.20 trillion invoiced by the Market Operator for services provided in 2025. According to NERC, the payments represented a 96.60 percent remittance performance. However, Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and its host community, classified as a special customer, made no payments against invoices issued during the period.

NERC said the company had an outstanding N4.96 billion invoice from Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) and another N500 million invoice from the Market Operator. “The Commission has escalated the issue of continual non-payment of electricity bills by Ajaokuta to the relevant federal ministries to find a lasting solution,” the report said.

NERC warned that continued failure to settle the obligations could put the Ajaokuta complex at risk of disconnection from its electricity service providers. “Failure to settle the obligations may put the Ajaokuta complex at risk of being disconnected from its service providers (NBET and MO) on the grounds of gross indebtedness,” it added.

NERC also said electricity distribution companies (DisCos) collectively took off 31,251.77 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity in 2025, while 25,867.86GWh was billed to customers. This resulted in a market energy accounting efficiency (EAE) of 82.77 percent.

The commission explained that EAE measures how effectively DisCos account for electricity received at their trading points. It is calculated by comparing the energy billed to customers, including metered and unmetered consumers, with the total electricity supplied to an area over a given period.

Ibadan DisCo recorded the highest energy accounting efficiency at 88.84 percent, while Enugu DisCo recorded the lowest at 72.18 percent. “The disaggregated performance of the DisCos shows that Ibadan DisCo recorded the highest energy accounting efficiency of 88.84%, while Enugu DisCo recorded the lowest efficiency of 72.18%,” NERC said.

The commission said DisCos were responsible for developing strategies to improve their energy accounting performance. “DisCos have the responsibility of developing strategies to improve their energy accounting efficiencies,” NERC said.

It identified improved distribution infrastructure, reduced technical losses, better customer enumeration and customer service, increased metering and the deployment of technology to combat electricity theft as measures that could help improve the sector’s performance.