International Electricity Payments: Nigeria's Neighbors Owed Millions

Benin and Togo: Outstanding Payments to Nigeria

Hey there, let me break this down for you. According to recent findings from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Benin Republic and Togo owe Nigeria a combined total of $8.84 million for electricity consumed during the fourth quarter of 2024. These figures are pretty significant and highlight the ongoing issue of payment delays in the energy sector.

NERC's Report on Payments

NERC has released a detailed report outlining the payment remittances from both domestic and international customers. This report dives into the invoices issued by the Market Operator in Q4 2024, shedding light on who paid what and who still owes. The situation isn't looking too great for international customers, who collectively managed to pay only $5.21 million out of a total invoice of $14.05 million, resulting in a dismal payment performance of just 37.08 percent.

Who Paid and Who Didn't?

Let’s zoom in on the international customers. Paras-SBEE in Benin Republic paid $2.65 million, while Paras-CEET, also in Benin, paid $1.64 million. Transcorp-SBEE (Ughelli) from Benin paid $1.71 million out of an invoice totaling $3.59 million. Meanwhile, Transcorp-SBEE (Afam 3) paid $0.90 million from its $1.2 million invoice. On the other hand, Odukpani-CEET in Togo still owes $2.37 million. Not all customers are delinquent, though. Mainstream-NIGELEC, an international customer, paid the full amount of $2.60 million, meeting their invoice without any issues.

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Domestic Customers' Performance

Shifting focus to Nigeria’s domestic bilateral customers, they made a cumulative payment of ₦1.25 million against the ₦1.98 million invoice issued to them. This resulted in a 63.36 percent remittance performance. Some customers also paid toward outstanding invoices from previous quarters. For instance, Paras-CEET paid $0.98 million, Pars-SBEE paid $0.7 million, and Transcorp-SBEE paid $1.3 million.

Payments Toward Outstanding Invoices

Domestic bilateral customers also contributed to clearing past debts. Payments received included ₦21.17 million from NDPHC-Weewood, ₦11 million from North South/Star Pipe, ₦83 million from Taopex, and ₦20.74 million from Trans-Amadi (OAU/FMPI).

Ajaokuta Steel Co. Ltd: A Persistent Non-Payer

Unfortunately, the special customer, Ajaokuta Steel Co. Ltd, along with its host community, failed to make any payments toward its Q4 2024 invoices, which total ₦1.27 billion (NBET) and ₦0.11 billion (MO). The report highlighted this as a recurring issue and urged relevant Federal Government authorities to step in and address the matter.

Revenue Generation by DisCos

On the brighter side, Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies (DisCos) generated a total of ₦509.84 billion in Q4 2024. This accounts for 77.44 percent of the ₦658.40 billion billed to customers during the period. Compared to Q3 2024, where DisCos collected ₦466.69 billion out of a billed ₦626.02 billion, resulting in a collection efficiency of 74.55 percent, there’s a noticeable improvement.

Improvement in Collection Efficiency

NERC stated, "The 77.44 percent collection efficiency recorded in Q4 2024 is an increase of 2.89 percentage points compared to the 74.55 percent recorded in Q3 2024." This improvement is a step in the right direction and highlights the progress being made in ensuring timely payments within the electricity sector.