Market News

By Dare Olawin

Electricity customers in Togo, Benin and the Niger Republic owed Nigeria about N17.45bn for power supplied in the first quarter of 2026 after remitting only 27.57 per cent of the $17.48m billed to them during the period, findings by The PUNCH from the latest report of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission have shown.

The report showed that the three international bilateral customers collectively paid $4.82m out of the $17.48m invoiced by the Market Operator, leaving an outstanding debt of $12.66m, equivalent to about N17.45bn at an exchange rate of N1,378 to the dollar.

The development came despite Nigeria’s continued electricity exports to neighbouring West African countries under bilateral power supply agreements with generation companies operating in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

The debts recur every quarter, contributing to the liquidity crisis in the power sector. According to the commission, the international customers recorded significantly weaker payment performance than domestic bilateral customers, who remitted 95 per cent of their invoices during the same period.

“The three international bilateral customers being supplied by GenCos in the NESI made a payment of $4.82m against the cumulative invoice of $17.48m issued by the Market Operator for services rendered in 2026/Q1, translating to a remittance performance of 27.57 per cent,” the NERC quarterly report stated.

A breakdown of the payments showed that Paras-SBEE, which supplies electricity to the Benin Republic, failed to make any payment against its $1.94m invoice, recording a zero per cent remittance performance.

Another bilateral customer, Paras-CEET, supplying electricity to Togo, also paid nothing despite receiving an invoice of $1.67m for electricity supplied during the quarter. Transcorp-SBEE (Ughelli), another supplier to the Benin Republic, remitted only $0.90m out of its $4.20m invoice, representing a payment performance of 21.43 per cent.

Similarly, Transcorp-SBEE (Afam 3) paid $1.13m against its invoice of $2.90m, translating to a remittance performance of 38.97 per cent.

Mainstream-NIGELEC, which exports electricity to the Niger Republic, emerged as the best-performing international customer, remitting $2.79m out of its $4.45m invoice, representing a payment performance of 62.70 per cent.

However, Odukpani-CEET, another supplier to Togo, did not remit any payment against its $2.29m invoice, maintaining a zero per cent remittance record for the period.

Although the remittance performance for current invoices remained poor, the commission disclosed that some international customers made payments towards debts accumulated in previous quarters.

“It is noteworthy that, during Q1 2026, three international and nine domestic bilateral customers made payments of $6.64m and N2.59bn, respectively, towards outstanding MO invoices from previous quarters.

“Specifically, the MO received a total of $4.05m from Société Béninoise d’Energie Electrique, comprising payments for Ughelli ($3.28m) and Paras ($0.77m). In addition, $1.87m was received from Mainstream-Société Nigérienne d’Électricité (NIGELEC) and $0.72m from Paras-Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo (CEET),” the report stated.

In contrast, domestic bilateral customers posted stronger payment performance during the review period. According to the commission, they paid N5.82bn out of the N6.12bn invoiced by the Market Operator, representing a remittance performance of 95 per cent.

“The domestic bilateral customers made a cumulative payment of N5.82bn against the invoice of N6.12bn issued to them by the MO for services rendered in 2026/Q1, translating to a 95.00 per cent remittance performance,” NERC said.

The report further showed that Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and its host community continued their longstanding failure to pay electricity bills.

The commission disclosed that the special customer made no payment against the N676.88m invoice issued by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and the N189.38m invoice issued by the Market Operator during the first quarter.