The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has revealed that Benin Republic and Togo owe Nigeria a combined total of $5.79 million for electricity consumed in the second quarter of 2024.
According to NERC’s Q2 2024 report, international customers from the two nations paid $9.81 million out of the $15.60 million invoiced for electricity supplied between April and June.
The international customers involved include Para-SBEE and Transcorp-SBEE in Benin Republic, as well as Mainstream-NIGELEC and Odukpani-CEET in Togo.
Breakdown of payments shows that Para-SBEE in Benin Republic remitted 71.21% of its $4.29 million invoice, while Transcorp-SBEE achieved a 100% payment of its $4.25 million charge. Meanwhile, Mainstream-NIGELEC in Togo paid 69.72% of its $3.59 million invoice, and Odukpani-CEET in Togo did not remit any payment for the electricity consumed during the period.
NERC also noted that, in the first quarter of 2024, none of the four international customers made payments towards the $14.19 million worth of electricity consumed. However, over the second quarter, international customers made total payments amounting to $16.65 million.
“Transcorp-SBEE and Mainstream-NIGELEC have made payments towards all outstanding invoices from previous quarters,” NERC stated in its report.
The electricity regulator further explained that domestic customers in Nigeria paid a total of N1.30 billion against a cumulative invoice of N1.99 billion for the second quarter, representing a remittance performance of 65.07%.
In terms of electricity subsidies, NERC reported a significant reduction in the federal government’s subsidy obligation, which dropped from N633.30 billion in Q1 to N380.06 billion in Q2.
The reduction was attributed to a policy directive that implemented tariff reviews for Band A customers, while tariffs for Band B-E customers have remained frozen since December 2022.