Benin Republic and Togo owe Nigeria $8.84 million for electricity consumed in Q4 2024. NERC’s report shows international bilateral customers made payments totaling $5.21 million from a $14.05 million invoice. Domestic customers paid N1.25 million out of N1.98 million. Ajaokuta Steel Co. Ltd’s non-payment remains a concern. Nigerian DisCos achieved a collection efficiency of 77.44 percent in Q4 2024.
The Benin Republic and Togo have accrued a debt of $8.84 million to Nigeria for electricity consumed in the fourth quarter of 2024, as reported by The PUNCH. This information was provided by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in their report on remittances from both domestic and international customers, as well as special customers, issued by the Market Operator for this period.
The report indicates that the six international bilateral customers supplied by Generation Companies (Gencos) in Nigeria made a combined payment of $5.21 million against a total invoice of $14.05 million, resulting in a remittance performance of 37.08 percent for 2024/Q4. Notable payments include Paras-SBEE from Benin Republic at $2.65 million and Paras-CEET also in Benin at $1.64 million, with additional payments made by Transcorp-SBEE in Benin and Togo.
Furthermore, only Mainstream-NIGELEC managed to settle its entire invoice of $2.60 million for the quarter. Domestic bilateral customers showed slightly better performance, with cumulative payments of N1.25 million against an invoice of N1.98 million, yielding a 63.36 percent remittance performance.
Some bilateral customers also addressed outstanding payments from prior quarters. For instance, Paras-CEET, Pars-SBEE, and Transcorp-SBEE collectively paid a total of $2.98 million towards previous invoices. In addition, the Market Operator recovered N135.81 million from various domestic customers for outstanding invoices from earlier periods.
Major concerns were raised regarding Ajaokuta Steel Co. Ltd, which, along with the host community, failed to remit payments toward the N1.27 billion and ₦0.11 billion invoices from 2024/Q4. NERC noted that this non-payment trend persisted and has prompted communication to federal authorities for intervention.
Lastly, the report disclosed that Nigerian electricity distribution companies collectively earned N509.84 billion in the last quarter of 2024, achieving a collection efficiency of 77.44 percent. This represents an increase from the previous quarter’s efficiency of 74.55 percent, reflecting a positive growth rate in revenue collection across the sector for the quarter.
In summary, the Benin Republic and Togo owe Nigeria $8.84 million for electricity in Q4 2024, highlighting challenges in remittance performance among international customers. While certain domestic customers improved their payment performance, specific entities like Ajaokuta Steel Co. Ltd continue to delay payments, prompting calls for intervention. Overall, the revenue collection by Nigerian DisCos showed signs of improvement in efficiency during this period.
Original Source: punchng.com
