The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) yesterday said Togo, Niger and the Republic of Benin owe Nigeria a combined $11.57 million for electricity supplied under bilateral agreements in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025.

According to NERC’s Q3 2025 report, the market operator (MO) issued a total invoice of $18.69 million to international electricity offtakers during the period. However, only $7.12 million was remitted, representing a 38.09 per cent payment performance.

The commission identified the defaulting international customers 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. These entities receive power supplies from Nigerian electricity generation companies (GenCos) through bilateral arrangements within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

The report said: “The three (3) international bilateral customers being supplied by GenCos in the NESI made a payment of $7.12 million against the cumulative invoice of $18.69 million issued by the MO for services rendered in 2025/Q3, translating to a remittance performance of 38.09 per cent.” On the domestic front, NERC said local bilateral customers recorded significantly better remittance levels.

The commission disclosed that domestic customers paid N3.19 billion out of the N3.64 billion invoiced by the MO for Q3 2025, translating to an 87.61 per cent remittance performance. The regulator also noted that some customers settled outstanding obligations from previous quarters.

NERC said: “It is noteworthy that some bilateral customers also made payments for outstanding MO invoices from previous quarters, as follows: the MO received $7.84 million from the international bilateral customers and N1,299.66 million from the domestic bilateral customers.”

However, NERC expressed concern over the continued non-payment by Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and its host community, classified as a special customer. The commission said the customer failed to remit any payment toward the N1.03 billion invoice issued by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc, as well as an additional N100 million invoice from the MO during the review period.