The Republics of Benin and Togo are yet to pay over $11m owed to Nigeria for electricity supplied in the first quarter of 2025, the latest report from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said.
According to the report by the NERC, the bilateral customers from both countries, including SBEE (Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique) and CEET (Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo) remitted only a fraction of their invoices.
The report stated that Togo’s CEET, for instance, received power through two bilateral deals (with Odukpani and Paras Energy) and made no payments at all for the quarter, while SBEE, which also has two bilateral contracts (via Transcorp and Paras), remitted just a portion of its dues.
Local media reports on Saturday said that the defaulters included PARAS-CEET (Togo), which remitted only $0.63m out of $1.92m; TRANSCORP-SBEE (Afam 3), which paid $0.3m of a $1.73m invoice; TRANSCORP-SBEE (Ughelli), with $1.82m paid against $4.97m; and ODUKPANI-CEET and PARAS-SBEE, both of which made no payment.
According to the report, of the $17.24m invoiced to all six international bilateral customers, only $5.8m was paid, a remittance rate of 33.70 per cent.
It added that only Niger Republic’s NIGELEC, which received supply through Mainstream Energy, fully settled its $3.03m invoice.
In contrast, Benin’s SBEE and Togo’s CEET collectively owed over $11m, with minimal or no payments made.
These defaults are part of a larger trend of poor remittance compliance among Nigeria’s international electricity customers, raising questions about the financial viability of cross-border energy trade.
NERC has repeatedly threatened to cut supply to the two countries, warning that such persistent shortfalls threaten the stability of Nigeria’s electricity market.
GIK/APA