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See the Millions of Dollars Benin, Togo Owe Nigeria Over Unpaid Electricity Bills — NERC

Published by Tope Fakinlede on July 5th, 2025.

See the Millions of Dollars Benin, Togo Owe Nigeria Over Unpaid Electricity Bills — NERC

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has revealed that the Republics of Benin and Togo owe Nigeria more than $11 million for electricity supplied in the first quarter of 2025.

According to NERC’s latest report, both countries made partial or no payments for power received under bilateral agreements involving Nigerian power firms such as Transcorp, Paras Energy, and Odukpani. The utilities involved include Benin’s SBEE (Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique) and Togo’s CEET (Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo).

The report details that CEET, which sourced power through agreements with Odukpani and Paras Energy, made zero remittance during the quarter. Similarly, SBEE — with contracts linked to Transcorp and Paras — paid only a portion of what was due.

Breakdown of payments showed:

PARAS-CEET (Togo): Paid $0.63 million out of $1.92 million

TRANSCORP-SBEE (Afam 3): Paid $0.3 million from a $1.73 million invoice

TRANSCORP-SBEE (Ughelli): Paid $1.82 million against $4.97 million

ODUKPANI-CEET and PARAS-SBEE: Made no payment at all

In total, Nigeria issued $17.24 million in invoices to six international bilateral customers, but received only $5.8 million in payments — representing a 33.7% settlement rate. Notably, Niger Republic’s utility, NIGELEC, was the only customer to clear its full $3.03 million bill.

The mounting debts from Benin and Togo have renewed concerns about the sustainability of Nigeria’s international electricity sales. NERC has repeatedly warned that continued default by neighboring countries could lead to the suspension of power exports to protect Nigeria’s domestic market.

On the domestic front, the report showed slightly better performance but still highlighted several defaulters among industrial and special customers.

While MSTM/Inner Galaxy paid its N1.64 billion bill in full, others like NDPHC/SUNFLAG, TAOPEX/KAM INT, and Sapele/Phoenix made no payments despite receiving multi-million-naira invoices.

Other notable domestic partial payments include:

NDPHC/WEEWOOD: Paid N71.74 million of N104.03 million

NORTH SOUTH/STAR PIPE: Paid N21.51 million out of N32.39 million

Trans Amadi (OAU and FMPI): Jointly paid N23.57 million of N35.98 million

Alaoju GENCO/APLE: Paid only N100 million out of a N455.36 million invoice

Ajaokuta Steel Company, which has long struggled with payment issues, again failed to remit any part of its N1.38 billion (NBET) and N134.05 million (MO) debts.

Analysts warn that both domestic and cross-border defaults could undermine the credibility and financial health of Nigeria’s power sector, particularly as the country pushes to stabilize its electricity market through bilateral and special arrangements.