Benin Republic, Togo, and Niger have collectively failed to pay $9.55m out of a total electricity bill issued to them by Nigeria for power supplied in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The report showed that international bilateral customers in the three West African countries were invoiced $20.44m for electricity supplied during the period but only remitted $10.89m, representing a 53.28 percent payment performance.
This means that nearly half of the total bill remains unpaid, leaving a significant shortfall owed to Nigeria’s electricity market operator.
A breakdown of the report indicates varying levels of repayment across different power supply arrangements. Some contracts recorded moderate compliance, such as Benin’s SBEE and Togo’s CEET under Paras-linked agreements, which made partial payments of their invoices.
However, other arrangements performed poorly. In one case, a Togo-based contract reportedly recorded no payment at all, while a Benin-linked supply under Transcorp showed extremely low remittance levels.
By contrast, another Benin-related supply arrangement recorded relatively strong performance, paying over 80 percent of its invoice, while Niger’s utility company also made substantial but incomplete payments.
The report further revealed that Nigeria’s domestic bilateral electricity customers performed better, remitting over 84 percent of their total invoices within the same period.
Ajaokuta Steel Company, however, reportedly made no payment despite being billed over N1bn.
Overall, the data highlights a clear disparity between international and domestic payment performance, with neighbouring countries owing a combined $9.55m for electricity supplied during the review period.
