Ogunyemi Ibukun Victoria
A new report by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has revealed that Benin Republic and Togo have accumulated $8.84 million in unpaid electricity bills for the power supplied to them in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The report, which examines remittances from both international and domestic electricity customers, shows that six international customers paid only $5.21 million out of a total $14.05 million invoiced by Nigeria’s Market Operator for Q4 2024. This reflects a remittance rate of just 37.08 per cent, raising concerns over financial sustainability in the power sector.
Breakdown of Outstanding Payments
According to NERC, the international companies and their payment statuses are as follows:
Paras-SBEE (Benin Republic): Paid $2.65 million.
Paras-CEET (Benin Republic): Paid $1.64 million.
Transcorp-SBEE (Ughelli, Benin Republic): Paid $1.71 million from its $3.59 million invoice.
Transcorp-SBEE (Afam 3, Benin Republic): Paid $0.90 million from its $1.2 million invoice.
Odukpani-CEET (Togo): Owes $2.37 million, making it one of the highest debtors.
Mainstream-NIGELEC was the only international customer to fully settle its invoice of $2.60 million.
While some customers made additional payments toward previous debts, a significant amount remains unpaid. The report noted that Paras-CEET, Paras-SBEE, and Transcorp-SBEE collectively paid an extra $2.98 million toward outstanding invoices from earlier quarters.
Domestic Electricity Payments and Lingering Debts
Within Nigeria, domestic bilateral customers remitted ₦1.25 million out of the ₦1.98 million billed for Q4 2024, representing a 63.36 per cent remittance rate. Some customers also cleared part of their old debts, with the Market Operator receiving ₦135.81 million in outstanding payments from local customers.
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However, Ajaokuta Steel Company Ltd and its host community failed to make any payments for the electricity they consumed in the quarter. The report states that they owe ₦1.27 billion to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) company and an additional ₦0.11 billion to the Market Operator. This continued non-payment, according to NERC, has been escalated to relevant federal authorities for intervention.
Nigerian DisCos Collect ₦509.84bn in Q4 2024
The NERC report also detailed revenue collections by electricity distribution companies (DisCos) across Nigeria. In Q4 2024, DisCos collected ₦509.84 billion out of ₦658.40 billion billed to customers, achieving a 77.44 per cent collection efficiency.
This marks an improvement from Q3 2024, where DisCos collected ₦466.69 billion out of ₦626.02 billion, with a collection efficiency of 74.55 per cent. The 2.89 per cent increase in Q4 efficiency suggests better revenue collection measures by DisCos.
Sector Outlook and Concerns
The growing electricity debt from both international and domestic consumers poses significant challenges to Nigeria’s energy sector. Industry experts have called for stricter enforcement of payment agreements and government intervention to address the financial risks affecting power supply stability.
As Nigeria continues to export electricity to neighboring countries, there is rising pressure on policymakers to ensure timely payments and protect the country’s energy investments from accumulating debt burdens.