Companies from Benin, Togo, and Niger have failed to settle a debt of $5.79 million owed to the Nigerian government for electricity supplied in the second quarter of 2024, according to a recent report from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The report identifies the firms responsible as Paras-SBEE and Transcorp-SBEE from Benin, Mainstream-NIGELEC from Niger, and Odukpani-CEET from Togo. NERC indicated that international customers accrued this debt during Q2 2024.
In its latest quarterly update, NERC stated that market operators issued invoices totaling $15.60 million to these four companies. However, only $9.81 million was collected from them.
Nigeria supplies electricity to its neighboring countries under international agreements. The report also highlighted that domestic bilateral consumers failed to pay N695.4 million out of a total of N1.99 billion during the same quarter.
In the second quarter of 2024, the four international customers made a combined payment of $9.81 million against the $15.60 million billed for services received. Similarly, domestic customers paid ₦1,295.90 million, falling short of the ₦1,991.30 million invoice issued to them for the same period.
NERC noted that some customers, both international and domestic, made payments toward debts incurred in previous quarters. Cumulatively, international customers have paid a total of $16.65 million, with Transcorp-SBEE and Mainstream-NIGELEC settling all outstanding invoices from earlier periods.
In May, NERC communicated the need for the Federal Government to address the ongoing issue of non-payment and outstanding debts owed by both international and domestic customers to the power sector.
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