By Nchetachi Chukwuajah
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 (Q1) of 2026.
The commission disclosed this in its First Quarter 2026 report released on Tuesday, July 7, stating that 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), representing a remittance performance of 27.57 percent.
“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 NERC report stated.
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 percent remittance rate.
NERC added that during the first quarter of 2026, the three international customers and nine domestic bilateral customers also paid $6.64 million and N2.59 billion, respectively as outstanding debts from previous quarters.
A breakdown of the international payments showed that 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 Énergie Électrique 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, a trend the NERC said 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 percent.
It noted that this was slightly lower than the 79.36 percent collection efficiency recorded in the fourth quarter of 2025, when DisCos collected N630.93 billion out of N795.06 billion billed to customers.
“This means that at an aggregate level, DisCos recorded a 0.41pp (percentage point) decrease in collection efficiency between 2025/Q4 and 2026/Q1,” the report stated.
According to the report, Ikeja DisCo recorded the highest collection efficiency of 90.00 percent in the first quarter of 2026, while Eko, Benin, Port Harcourt, and Abuja DisCos recorded collection efficiencies of 89.64 percent, 85.16 percent, 81.22 percent, and 80.90 percent, respectively.
Conversely, Kaduna DisCo recorded the lowest collection efficiency at 45.81percent.
The NERC also 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 percent of the total GenCo invoice, compared with 52.03 percent 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 percent between 2025/Q4 and 2026/Q1.”
