The Republics of Benin and Togo have failed to remit over $11 million owed to Nigeria for electricity supplied during the first quarter of 2025, according to a report by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

The two West African neighbours, who receive power under bilateral supply agreements with Nigeria, made only partial or no payments at all for the energy consumed between January and March.

Togo’s electricity utility, Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo (CEET), did not make any payment for its power received through bilateral deals with Odukpani and Paras Energy. Likewise, Benin’s SBEE (Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique) paid only a portion of its invoices under agreements with Transcorp and Paras.

A breakdown of the report showed that CEET paid just $0.63 million out of a $1.92 million invoice under its Paras deal, while Benin’s SBEE settled only $0.3 million of a $1.73 million bill from Transcorp’s Afam III plant. Another deal between Transcorp and SBEE covering Ughelli power saw a payment of $1.82 million against a total of $4.97 million owed. Meanwhile, both Odukpani-CEET and Paras-SBEE made no remittances.

Overall, six bilateral customers from Nigeria’s cross-border power deals were invoiced a combined $17.24 million, but only $5.8 million was recovered, reflecting a remittance rate of just 33.7 per cent. Niger’s utility firm, NIGELEC, was the only customer to fully settle its $3.03 million obligation.

The persistent non-payment trend, especially from Benin and Togo, has raised serious concerns about the financial viability of Nigeria’s international electricity supply agreements. NERC has previously warned of possible supply cuts to both countries, stating that continued default poses a risk to the country’s electricity market stability.

On the domestic front, while payment compliance was relatively better, several Nigerian customers still failed to meet their financial obligations. Some companies only cleared previous debts, while others defaulted entirely on current bills.

One of the top local performers was MSTM/Inner Galaxy, which fully paid its N1.64 billion invoice. In contrast, firms such as NDPHC/SUNFLAG, TAOPEX/Kam Steel, and Sapele/Phoenix made no payments despite being billed hundreds of millions of naira.

Other partial payments included NDPHC/WEEWOOD, which paid N71.74 million of a N104.03 million bill, and NORTH SOUTH/STAR PIPE, which remitted 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 just N100 million out of a N455.36 million invoice, resulting in a 21.96 per cent compliance rate.

NERC also highlighted Ajaokuta Steel Company, a designated “special customer,” for failing to pay anything toward its N1.38 billion NBET bill and a separate N134.05 million owed to the Market Operator—continuing its long-standing record of non-payment.

Industry analysts warn that continued defaults from both foreign and local customers could undermine the effectiveness and sustainability of Nigeria’s electricity market reforms.