The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) says Togo, the Republic of Benin and Niger Republic owe Nigeria $12.66 million for electricity supplied in the first quarter of 2026.

According to the commission’s First Quarter 2026 report released on Tuesday, the three countries paid only $4.82 million out of the $17.48 million invoiced for electricity supplied by Nigeria’s electricity Generation Companies (GenCos).

NERC said, “The three international bilateral customers being supplied by GenCos in the NESI made a payment of $4.82 million against the cumulative invoice of $17.48 million issued by the MO for services rendered in 2026/Q1, translating to a remittance performance of 27.57 per cent.”

The report also showed that domestic bilateral customers paid N5.82 billion out of the N6.12 billion invoiced for electricity supplied during the period, representing a 95 per cent remittance rate.

NERC added that during the first quarter of 2026, the three international customers and nine domestic bilateral customers also paid outstanding debts from previous quarters. The international customers paid $6.64 million, while the domestic customers paid N2.59 billion.

Breaking down the international payments, the commission said the Market Operator received $4.05 million from Société Béninoise d’Energie Electrique (SBEE), made up of $3.28 million for Ughelli and $0.77 million for Paras.

It added that $1.87 million was received from Mainstream – Société Nigérienne d’Electricité (NIGELEC), while Paras – Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo (CEET) paid $0.72 million.

The report also stated that the special customer, Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and its host community, did not pay the N676.88 million invoice from the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) or the N189.38 million invoice issued by the Market Operator during the quarter.

NERC said the non-payment has continued for a long time.

The commission stated, “This continues a longstanding trend of non-payment by this customer, and the Commission has communicated the need for intervention on this issue to the relevant Federal Government authorities.”

The report further showed that electricity distribution companies (DisCos) collected N597.56 billion out of the N756.93 billion billed to customers in the first quarter of 2026, representing a collection efficiency of 78.95 per cent.

This was slightly lower than the 79.36 per cent collection efficiency recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025, when DisCos collected N630.93 billion out of N795.06 billion billed to customers.

NERC said the Federal Government spent N358.32 billion on electricity subsidies during the first quarter because tariffs remained below cost-reflective levels across all DisCos.

According to the report, this was N60.46 billion lower than the N418.79 billion subsidy recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025.

The commission said the subsidy accounted for 51.95 per cent of the total GenCo invoice, compared with 52.03 per cent in the previous quarter.

Explaining the reduction, the report stated, “The key driver of this reduction in FGN subsidy obligation is the decrease in energy offtake of the DisCos by -8.56 per cent between 2025/Q4 and 2026/Q1.”

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