By Joshua Tosin Ogunsakin 
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has revealed that Togo, Niger, and Benin Republic owe Nigeria a total of $19.97 million for power supplied during the first half of 2025, with the debt arising from services provided by Generation Companies (GenCos) to the neighbouring countries.”
According to NERC, the international clients—which include Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique (SBEE) of Benin, Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo (CEET) of Togo, and Société Nigerienne d’Electricité (NIGELEC) of Niger—paid $14.81 million out of a total of $34.78 million invoiced for the first and second quarters of 2025.
A detailed breakdown shows that Paras-SBEE made no payments against invoices of $2.42 million and $2.77 million for the two quarters. Paras-CEET paid $0.63 million out of $1.92 million for the first quarter and nothing out of $2.02 million in the second. Transcorp-SBEE (Ughelli) settled $1.82 million and $5.47 million from invoices of $4.97 million and $5.47 million respectively, while Transcorp-SBEE (Afam) paid $0.30 million and $0.95 million against invoices of $1.73 million and $1.28 million.
Mainstream-NIGELEC remitted $3.03 million and $2.69 million from invoices of $3.04 million and $3.71 million, whereas Odukpani-CEET did not make any payment against invoices of $3.16 million and $2.29 million.
The report also highlighted that Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and its host community failed to pay invoices of N1.38 billion (NBET) and N0.13 billion (MO) in the first quarter, and N1.27 billion (NBET) and N0.12 billion (MO) in the second quarter. NERC described the company’s consistent non-payment as a recurring concern and called for federal government intervention.
On the domestic front, Nigerian electricity consumers owed a total of N368.26 billion for power supplied over the same six-month period. Meanwhile, the eleven Distribution Companies (DisCos) collected N1.11 trillion out of N1.48 trillion billed between January and June 2025.
NERC emphasised that improved revenue recovery depends on accurate customer enumeration and extensive meter installation. By June 2025, over 107,000 Band A customers had been metered under the Meter Acquisition Fund (MAF) scheme.
The Commission added that DisCos should continue leveraging available metering frameworks under the NERC MAP and NMMP metering regulation (2021) to reduce losses and strengthen liquidity across Nigeria’s power sector.