Benin, Togo, Niger Leave $10.17m Unpaid on Nigeria’s Q2 Power Bills — NERC

Electricity customers in Benin, Togo and Niger left $10.17 million unpaid on power invoices issued by Nigeria’s Market Operator during the second quarter of 2026, according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

NERC’s Second Quarter 2026 Report shows that the three international bilateral customers were billed a combined $18.84 million for services provided between April and June but remitted only $8.67 million. This represented a collective payment performance of 46.02 percent.

The payment performance varied significantly among the three countries and their respective electricity customers. Mainstream-NIGELEC, which supplies electricity to Niger, recorded full payment of its $5.79 million Q2 invoice.

In the case of Togo, Paras-SBEE paid $1.73 million out of a $2.46 million invoice, while Paras-CEET paid $1.15 million out of $1.68 million. The two customers recorded payment performances of 70.33 percent and 68.45 percent respectively.

However, some of the larger invoices received no payment during the quarter. Transcorp-SBEE made no payment against its $2.67 million Ughelli invoice or its $4.38 million Afam 3 invoice, while Odukpani-CEET also made no payment against its $1.86 million invoice.

Together, the unpaid Q2 invoices amounted to $10.17 million. NERC noted that the figures do not represent all payments made by the international customers during the quarter. The three customers also paid a combined $10.33 million toward Market Operator invoices that had accumulated from the first quarter of 2026.

The latest figures highlight continuing payment challenges in Nigeria’s cross-border electricity market, where Nigerian generating companies supply power to neighbouring countries under bilateral arrangements.

The situation contrasts with the performance of domestic bilateral customers. NERC reported that domestic customers paid N6.91 billion out of N7.55 billion billed by the Market Operator during Q2, representing a 91.54 percent remittance rate.

The outstanding international invoices add to the payment pressures within Nigeria’s electricity market, where delayed settlements can affect the financial position of companies involved in power generation and market operations.