Nigeria’s electricity regulator has reported that Togo, Niger, and Benin Republic owe the country a combined $19.97 million for power supplied in the first half of 2025.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) said the debt accumulated from services rendered by Generation Companies (GenCos) to the three neighbouring countries.
According to NERC, the international customers, which include Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique (SBEE) of Benin Republic, Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo (CEET) of Togo, and Société Nigerienne d’Electricité (NIGELEC) of Niger Republic, made a payment of $14.81 million out of the total $34.78 million invoiced for the first and second quarters of 2025.
A breakdown of the figures shows that Paras-SBEE made no payment from invoices of $2.42 million and $2.77 million for the two quarters. Paras-CEET paid $0.63 million out of $1.92 million in the first quarter and nothing out of $2.02 million in the second. Transcorp-SBEE (Ughelli) paid $1.82 million and $5.47 million for invoices of $4.97 million and $5.47 million respectively, while Transcorp-SBEE (Afam) paid $0.30 million and $0.95 million from invoices of $1.73 million and $1.28 million.
Mainstream-NIGELEC paid $3.03 million and $2.69 million from invoices of $3.04 million and $3.71 million, while Odukpani-CEET made no payment for invoices of $3.16 million and $2.29 million.
The report also showed that Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and its host community failed to make any payment towards invoices of N1.38 billion (NBET) and N0.13 billion (MO) in the first quarter, and N1.27 billion (NBET) and N0.12 billion (MO) in the second quarter. NERC described the company’s consistent non-payment as a recurring concern and called for federal government intervention.
Domestically, Nigerian consumers owed a total of N368.26 billion for electricity supplied within the same six-month period. The eleven Distribution Companies (DisCos) collected N1.11 trillion out of N1.48 trillion billed between January and June 2025.
NERC noted that improved revenue recovery depends on accurate customer enumeration and widespread meter installation. By June 2025, more than 107,000 Band A customers had been metered under the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) scheme.
The Commission added that DisCos should continue to use available metering frameworks under the NERC MAP and NMMP metering regulation (2021) to reduce losses and strengthen liquidity across Nigeria’s power sector.
