The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has revealed that Togo, Niger, and Benin are owing Nigeria $17.8m, an equivalent of over N25bn at the current exchange rate, for electricity supplied under bilateral arrangements.
NERC made this known in its 2025 Third Quarter report where it claimed that the three international customers were invoiced a total of $18.69m by the Market Operator for electricity supplied during the period, but they remitted only $7.125m, leaving an outstanding balance of $11.56m.
Additionally, the report said the international bilateral customers had legacy invoices of $14.7m, out of which they paid $7.84m, leaving a balance of $6.23m.
Cumulatively, the debt incurred from the previous quarters and that of Q3 2025 amounted to $17.8m which at the latest exchange rate of N1,425 to a dollar equalled to N25.36bn.
The regulator listed the international offtakers as Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique of the Republic of Benin, and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité of the Republic of Niger.
As per NERC, the trio purchasing power from the grid-connected GenCos made a cumulative payment of $7.125m against the $18.69m invoice issued to them by the Market Operator for services rendered in 2025/Q3.
It stated that the remittance level represented a 38.09 per cent remittance performance, with more than half of the invoices remaining unpaid at the end of the quarter.
“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 publication read.
However, NERC said domestic bilateral customers performed better, remitting N3.19bn out of the N3.64bn invoiced to them during the quarter, representing a remittance rate of 87.61 per cent.
“The domestic bilateral customers made a cumulative payment of N3.19bn against the invoice of N3.64bn issued to them by the MO for services rendered in 2025/Q3, translating to 87.61 per cent remittance performance,” it added.
