By Ebi Kesiena
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has disclosed that the Republics of Benin and Togo have failed to remit over $11 million for electricity supplied to them by Nigeria in the first quarter of 2025.
According to NERC’s latest report, bilateral power customers from both countries, including the Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique (SBEE) and the Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo (CEET), remitted only a fraction of their respective bills.
In particular, CEET, which received power via bilateral deals with Odukpani and Paras Energy, did not make any payments during the period under review. SBEE, which maintains supply contracts with Transcorp and Paras Energy, also defaulted on a significant portion of its payments.
Local media reports on Saturday said a breakdown of the remittances showed that PARAS-CEET paid just $0.63 million out of a $1.92 million invoice; TRANSCORP-SBEE (Afam 3) paid $0.3 million of a $1.73 million bill; while TRANSCORP-SBEE (Ughelli) remitted $1.82 million out of $4.97 million. ODUKPANI-CEET and PARAS-SBEE reportedly made no payment at all.
Out of the $17.24 million invoiced to all six international bilateral customers, only $5.8 million was paid, reflecting a low remittance rate of 33.7 per cent. Niger Republic’s NIGELEC was the only customer that fully paid its $3.03 million invoice for power supplied by Mainstream Energy.
The persistent default by Benin and Togo has raised concerns about the sustainability of Nigeria’s international electricity deals, with NERC warning that the continued shortfalls could destabilise the country’s already fragile electricity market. The commission has, in previous reports, threatened to suspend supply to chronic defaulters.
