International bilateral electricity customers in Benin Republic and Togo have accrued a debt of $5.79 million to Nigeria for energy consumption during the second quarter of 2024.
This figure was disclosed in the latest report from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), which our correspondent analyzed on Sunday.
The total invoice issued by the market operator for this period amounted to $15.60 million, with international customers remitting $9.81 million.
The companies involved include Para-SBEE in Benin Republic, which owes $1.23 million; Transcorp-SBEE in Benin; Mainstream-NIGELEC in Togo, with a debt of $1.09 million; and Odukpani-CEET in Togo, which has not made any payments, amounting to $3.47 million.
The report indicates varying remittance rates among these companies. Para-SBEE paid 71.21% of its $4.29 million bill, while Transcorp-SBEE fully settled its $4.25 million obligation. Mainstream-NIGELEC remitted 69.72% of its $3.59 million invoice, but Odukpani-CEET did not remit any funds during this quarter.
In the preceding quarter, none of the four international customers paid against a cumulative invoice of $14.19 million issued by the market operator, highlighting ongoing challenges in payment compliance.
The second-quarter report also noted that some bilateral customers made payments towards outstanding invoices from previous quarters, with cumulative payments from international customers reaching $16.65 million. Notably, both Transcorp-SBEE and Mainstream-NIGELEC have cleared all previous dues.
The report further revealed that the four international customers supplied by generation companies in Nigeria's electricity sector paid a total of $9.81 million against the cumulative invoice of $15.60 million for services rendered in Q2 2024, resulting in a remittance performance of 62.88%.
Additionally, domestic bilateral customers contributed N1.30 billion towards outstanding invoices totaling N1.99 billion, achieving a remittance performance of 65.07%. The market operator also received N1.30 billion from domestic customers for previous invoices.
