The Republics of Benin and Togo have failed to pay nearly $11 million owed to Nigeria for energy supplied in the first quarter of 2025, according to the Nigerian Energy Regulatory Commission’s latest report.
Bilateral customers from both nations, including SBEE (Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique) and CEET (Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo), paid only a portion of their payments.
Togo’s CEET, for example, got power from two bilateral agreements (with Odukpani and Paras Energy) and made no payments during the quarter. SBEE, which also has two bilateral contracts (with Transcorp and Paras), only paid a fraction of its dues.
According to the report, defaulters included PARAS-CEET (Togo), which remitted only $0.63 million out of $1.92 million; TRANSCORP-SBEE (Afam 3), which paid $0.3 million of a $1.73 million invoice; TRANSCORP-SBEE (Ughelli), which paid $1.82 million out of $4.97 million; and ODUKPANI-CEET and PARAS-SBEE, both of which made no payment.
According to the report, only $5.8 million of the $17.24 million billed to all six foreign bilateral customers was paid, representing a 33.70 percent remittance rate. Only the Republic of Niger’s NIGELEC, which got supply from Mainstream Energy, fully paid its $3.03 million invoice.
In contrast, Benin’s SBEE and Togo’s CEET collectively owed more than $11 million, with little or no payment made.
These defaults are part of a larger trend of poor remittance compliance among Nigeria’s international electricity consumers, which calls into doubt the financial feasibility of cross-border energy commerce.
NERC has regularly threatened to halt power to the two countries, warning that such long-term gaps endanger the integrity of Nigeria’s electrical market.
On the domestic front, the study revealed that performance improved but still faced certain obstacles. Some bilateral clients apparently failed or made partial payments, while others simply settled past arrears.
While MSTM/Inner Galaxy paid its N1.64 billion invoice in full, corporations such as NDPHC/SUNFLAG, TAOPEX/KAM INT, TAOPEX/Kam Steel, and Sapele/Phoenix did not pay despite invoices totaling hundreds of millions of naira.
Other notable partial defaulters included NDPHC/WEEWOOD, which paid N71.74 million out of N104.03 million; NORTH SOUTH/STAR PIPE, which paid N21.51 million out of N32.39 million; Trans Amadi (OAU) and Trans Amadi (FMPI), which jointly remitted N23.57 million out of N35.98 million; and Alaoju GENCO/APLE, with only N100 million paid out of N455.36 million, indicating a remittance rate of 21.96 percent.
NERC also expressed concern that Ajaokuta Steel Company, a designated special customer, failed to pay its N1.38bn (NBET) and N134.05m (MO) invoices, continuing a long history of nonpayment.
Experts warn that these ongoing defaults, both international and domestic, put doubt on the viability of bilateral and special supply arrangements in Nigeria’s energy market.