Nigeria’s electricity export earnings took a hit in the final quarter of 2025, with Benin, Togo and Niger failing to fully settle payments for power supplied, leaving an outstanding debt of $9.55m.
Details contained in the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) fourth quarter report showed that the three neighbouring countries were billed a total of $20.44m for electricity supplied through bilateral agreements. However, only $10.89m was remitted, reflecting a payment performance of 53.28 per cent.
“The three international bilateral customers being supplied by GenCos in the Nigerian electricity supply industry made a payment of $10.89m against the cumulative invoice of $20.44m issued by the MO for services rendered in 2025/Q4, translating to a remittance performance of 53.28 per cent,” the report stated.
The shortfall means that less than two thirds of the invoiced amount was recovered, leaving nearly half unpaid within the quarter under review.
A breakdown of the transactions revealed uneven payment patterns across the contracts. In Benin Republic, Société Béninoise d’Energie Electrique made partial payments across multiple supply arrangements.
While Paras-SBEE paid $1.67m out of $2.45m billed, Transcorp-SBEE at Ughelli recorded a weak performance, settling only $0.46m from a $3.74m invoice.
However, the Afam 3 arrangement showed stronger compliance, with $3.21m paid out of $3.90m.
In Togo, Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo paid $1.46m against a $2.18m invoice under its Paras agreement.
Yet, under the Odukpani contract, no payment was made despite a $2.18m bill, resulting in a zero remittance.
Niger’s utility, Société Nigerienne d’Electricite, which had the largest invoice of $5.96m under the Mainstream arrangement, paid $4.09m, representing a moderate settlement rate.
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Despite the weak performance within the quarter, some outstanding debts from earlier periods were cleared.
The report noted that Société Béninoise d’Energie Electrique paid $3.54m towards previous invoices, while a domestic customer, APLE, remitted N141.14m.
“It is noteworthy that one international and one domestic bilateral customer made payments in 2025/Q4 for outstanding MO invoices from previous quarters.
“The MO received $3.54m from Société Béninoise d’Energie Electrique (Ughelli, $1.86m, and Afam 3, $1.67m) and N141.14m from APLE towards outstanding invoices from previous quarters,” the commission stated.
In contrast, local customers within Nigeria demonstrated stronger compliance. Domestic bilateral users paid N3.5bn out of a total N4.17bn invoiced, translating to an 84.23 per cent remittance rate.
“The domestic bilateral customers made a cumulative payment of N3.5bn against the invoice of N4.17bn issued to them by the MO for services rendered in 2025/Q4, translating to 84.23 per cent remittance performance,” the report added.
However, Ajaokuta Steel Company, classified as a special customer, made no payment despite receiving an invoice of N1.26bn during the same period.
The commission noted that all figures were based on reconciled market settlements submitted as of April 2, 2026.
The development underscores ongoing difficulties in recovering payments for electricity exports, even as Nigeria continues to grapple with its own domestic power supply constraints.