Regional electricity exports expose payment gaps as neighbouring countries settle just over half of invoices…..
Three West African nations Benin, Togo, and Niger have collectively failed to pay $9.55 million for electricity supplied by Nigeria in the fourth quarter of 2025, raising fresh concerns about cross-border energy trade and revenue recovery.
According to the latest report from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), international customers in the three countries were issued a total invoice of $20.44 million for electricity supplied during the period. However, only $10.89 million was paid, translating to a remittance rate of 53.28%.
In practical terms, this means that for every $100 billed, just over $53 was recovered, leaving nearly half of the payments outstanding.
The debts are linked to state-owned power utilities in the three countries. In Benin, electricity was supplied to Société Béninoise d’Energie Electrique (SBEE) through multiple generation companies, including Paras and Transcorp’s Ughelli and Afam plants. Payment performance varied widely across these arrangements, with some contracts showing moderate compliance while others lagged significantly.
For instance, the Paras-SBEE contract recorded a 68% payment rate, while Transcorp’s Ughelli supply deal saw a much weaker performance of just over 12%. However, supply from Afam 3 to SBEE performed relatively better, with over 80% of the invoice settled.
In Togo, Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo (CEET) posted mixed results. While one contract with Paras achieved nearly 65% payment, another arrangement involving the Odukpani plant recorded zero remittance, highlighting stark inconsistencies in settlement behaviour.
Meanwhile, in Niger, Société Nigerienne d’Electricite (NIGELEC) was billed the highest amount at $5.96 million and paid $4.09 million, representing a relatively stronger performance of about 69%.
Despite these shortfalls, there were some repayments of older debts. SBEE made an additional $3.54 million payment toward outstanding invoices from previous quarters, while a domestic bilateral customer, APLE, settled N141 million in arrears.
In contrast to the weak remittance from international customers, Nigeria’s domestic bilateral electricity market showed stronger payment discipline. Local customers paid N3.5 billion out of N4.17 billion invoiced, achieving a remittance rate of 84.23%, a significant improvement compared to cross-border transactions.
However, not all domestic consumers met expectations. Ajaokuta Steel Company, classified as a special customer, failed to make any payment despite being billed N1.26 billion during the quarter.
The data, based on reconciled market settlements as of April 2, 2026, underscores ongoing challenges in Nigeria’s electricity value chain, particularly in recovering revenues from international customers, even as the country continues to export power across the region.
The situation raises broader questions about the sustainability of regional electricity trade, especially at a time when Nigeria’s power sector is already grappling with subsidy pressures and financial constraints.
