Togo, Niger and Benin owe Nigeria $11.16 million for electricity supplied by Nigerian electricity generation companies (GenCos) under bilateral arrangements in 2025, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
In its 2025 annual report, NERC said the Market Operator (MO) issued invoices totalling $73.91 million to the three international customers for ancillary services, but received only $62.75 million.
The payments represented an 84.90 percent remittance performance, leaving $11.16 million outstanding.
The international offtakers were Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo (CEET), Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique (SBEE) and Société Nigérienne d’Électricité (NIGELEC).
NERC said: “The international bilateral customers (i.e., Societe Nigerienne d’electricite – NIGELEC, Societe Beninoise d’Energie Electrique – SBEE and Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo – CEET) received a total invoice of $73.91 million for ancillary services provided by the MO and made a total payment of $62.75 million, corresponding to a remittance performance of 84.90%.”
Domestic customers remitted N12.75 trillion
NERC said domestic bilateral customers remitted N12.75 trillion against N13.20 trillion invoiced by the Market Operator for services rendered in 2025.
The payment represented a 96.60 percent remittance performance, according to the commission.
However, Ajaokuta Steel Co. Ltd and its host community, classified as a special customer, made no payment towards a N4.96 billion invoice issued by Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc or the N500 million invoice issued by the Market Operator.
“The Commission has escalated the issue of continual non-payment of electricity bills by Ajaokuta to the relevant federal ministries to find a lasting solution,” NERC said.
It warned that failure to settle the obligations could put the Ajaokuta complex at risk of disconnection from NBET and the Market Operator “on the grounds of gross indebtedness”.
DisCos off-take 31,251.77GWh
NERC also reported that Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies (DisCos) took off 31,251.77GWh of energy in 2025, while 25,867.86GWh was billed to customers.
The figures translated to a market energy accounting efficiency (EAE) of 82.77 percent.
NERC said EAE measures how effectively DisCos account for the energy they take off at their trading points. It is calculated as the proportion of energy billed to both metered and unmetered customers relative to the total energy supplied to an area over a given period.
Ibadan DisCo recorded the highest energy accounting efficiency at 88.84 percent, while Enugu DisCo recorded the lowest at 72.18 percent.
NERC said DisCos are responsible for developing strategies to improve their energy accounting efficiency.
These measures could include strengthening infrastructure to reduce technical losses, improving consumer enumeration and customer service, increasing metering rates and deploying technologies to curb electricity theft.
