Power Supply Debt: Niger, Togo, Benin Owe Nigeria N12.38 Billion – NERC Reports

Niger Republic, Benin Republic, and Togo have been unable to pay the Nigerian government $16.11 million outstanding for energy supply in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) announced this in its 2023 Q1 report, which was released in Abuja on Wednesday.

According to the NERC, the worth of power was sold to four companies in three countries: Paras-SBEE and Transcorp-SBEE from Benin Republic, Mainstream-NIGELEC from Niger, and Odukpani-CEET from Togo.

Paras-SBEE owed $3.46 million, Transcorp-SBEE owed $3.85 million, Mainstream-NIGELEC owed $5.48 million, and Odukpani-CEET will pay $3.32 million, according to the Commission.

It stated that non-remittance by international and bilateral clients remains a trend that should cause it to activate a market rule provision to curb the payment indiscipline displayed by various market participants.

The report reads: “None of the under listed international customers made any payment against the cumulative $16.11 million invoice issued to them in Q1 2023; Paras-SBEE ($3.46 million), Transcorp-SBEE ($3.85 million), Mainstream-NIGELEC ($5.48 million) and Odukpani-CEET ($3.32 million).

“The market operations (MO) issued invoices to all the eight bilateral customers in the NESI in 2023/Q1 which amounted to N842.38 million. During the quarter, only North-South/Star Pipe made a remittance of ₦15.38 million against an invoice of N24.69 million issued to them.

“This means that for the period, the cumulative remittance performance of bilateral customers was 1.83 per cent.”