Togo, Benin and Niger owed Nigeria $11.16 million for electricity supplied by Nigerian power generation companies under bilateral agreements in 2025, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
NERC disclosed this in its 2025 annual report, stating that the Market Operator (MO) issued invoices totalling $73.91 million to the three international electricity customers during the year. However, only $62.75 million was paid, leaving an outstanding balance of $11.16 million and representing an 84.90 percent remittance performance.
The affected international customers are Société Nigérienne d’Électricité (NIGELEC) of Niger, Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique (SBEE) of Benin and Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo (CEET).
NERC said the three customers received invoices totalling $73.91 million for ancillary services provided by the Market Operator but paid only $62.75 million.
Meanwhile, domestic bilateral customers paid N12.75 trillion out of the N13.20 trillion invoiced by the Market Operator for services provided in 2025, representing a 96.60 percent remittance performance.
However, Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and its host community, classified as a special customer, failed to make any payment against invoices issued during the period.
According to NERC, Ajaokuta Steel had an outstanding N4.96 billion invoice from Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), in addition to another N500 million owed to the Market Operator.
The commission said it had escalated the issue of Ajaokuta’s continued non-payment to relevant federal ministries in an effort to find a lasting solution.
NERC warned that failure to settle the outstanding debts could result in the Ajaokuta complex being disconnected from its electricity service providers because of its accumulated indebtedness.
The regulator also reported that electricity distribution companies (DisCos) collectively took delivery of 31,251.77 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity in 2025, while only 25,867.86GWh was billed to customers.
This translated to a market energy accounting efficiency (EAE) of 82.77 percent.
NERC explained that EAE measures how effectively DisCos account for the electricity received at their trading points. It is calculated by comparing the amount of electricity billed to customers, including both metered and unmetered consumers, with the total electricity supplied to the area during 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.
The commission said DisCos are responsible for developing strategies to improve their energy accounting efficiency.
NERC identified improved distribution infrastructure, reduced technical losses, better customer enumeration and service, increased metering, and the use of technology to combat electricity theft as key measures that could improve performance across the electricity sector.
