Nigeria's Federal Government reports that Togo and Benin owe $14.19 million for electricity supplied in Q1 2024. The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission highlights the failure of international customers to remit payments, prompting calls for stricter enforcement of payment regulations to address ongoing financial accountability issues in the electricity sector.
Nigeria’s Federal Government has reported that Togo and Benin owe a total of $14.19 million for electricity supplied during the first quarter of 2024. According to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), none of the four international customers, including Para-SBEE and Transcorp-SBEE from Benin, as well as Mainstream-NIGELEC and Odukpani-CEET from Togo, have made payments against their respective invoices.
The debts include $3.15 million owed by Para-SBEE, $4.46 million by Transcorp-SBEE, $1.21 million by Mainstream-NIGELEC, and $5.36 million by Odukpani-CEET. The report indicates that while these bilateral customers failed to remit payments for the current period, some did make partial payments on outstanding invoices from previous quarters.
Overall, two international customers paid a total of $5.96 million, and eight local customers contributed N505.71 million towards pre-2024 debts. NERC highlighted the need for stricter enforcement of payment regulations to address what it termed "payment indiscipline" among both local and international customers.
In 2023, it was reported that international consumers had failed to remit approximately $51.26 million for electricity exported from Nigeria, adding to the ongoing concerns regarding financial accountability in the sector. NERC has called for action to ensure compliance with payment obligations, emphasizing the importance of financial discipline in the electricity market.
