A graphic showing Nigeria connected to Togo, Niger, and Benin with electricity arrows and a highlighted debt figure of $17.8 million.

Nigeria's electricity regulator, NERC, reports that three neighbouring countries owe $17.8m for power supplied from the national grid.

Nigeria is owed a substantial sum for keeping the lights on in neighbouring nations, according to the latest regulatory data. 

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has disclosed that three African neighbours owe the country $17.8 million (approximately ₦25.36 billion) for electricity supplied through bilateral agreements.

The debtors are the power utilities of Togo (Compagnie Énergie Électrique du Togo), Benin (Société Béninoise d’Énergie Électrique), and Niger (Société Nigérienne d’Électricité). 

The figure, revealed in NERC's Third Quarter 2025 report, comprises both current and legacy invoices for power generated by Nigerian plants and wheeled across borders.

The report details a significant payment gap. In Q3 2025 alone, the three nations were invoiced $18.69 million by Nigeria's Market Operator for electricity consumed. 

They paid only $7.125 million, achieving a remittance performance of just 38.09%. An additional $6.23 million remains from older, legacy invoices, bringing the total outstanding to $17.8 million.

This performance stands in stark contrast to domestic customers within Nigeria. During the same period, local bilateral customers paid 87.61% of their ₦3.64 billion invoice. Furthermore, the nation's 11 Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) remitted 95.21% of their ₦400.48 billion invoice to the market.

The debt underscores the commercial challenges within the West African power pool, where Nigeria serves as a regional electricity supplier. 

While these bilateral contracts are designed for regional energy stability, collection inefficiencies pose a revenue loss for the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

NERC, in its report compiled from reconciled data as of December 18, 2025, noted that some payments for previous quarters were received. 

However, the growing outstanding balance from international offtakers remains a concern for market liquidity.

The commission continues its statutory oversight of the market's financial performance, with this revelation likely to prompt discussions on more stringent payment frameworks for cross-border electricity sales. 

For a nation grappling with its own grid reliability and financial sustainability, recovering these funds is more than a bilateral issue, it's a matter of economic prudence.