Nigeria is owed a total of $51.26 million by international consumers for electricity exported to them in 2023, according to the latest industry data released by the Federal Government. Additionally, bilateral power consumers owe the Nigerian power sector N7.61 billion for the same period.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has condemned the non-payment, describing it as “payment indiscipline” that must be addressed by the Market Operator, an arm of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
According to the data, international consumers failed to remit $16.11 million, $11.97 million, $11.16 million, and $12.02 million for electricity exported to them in the first, second, third, and fourth quarters of 2023, respectively. Similarly, bilateral consumers did not pay N827 million, N2.03 billion, N2.8 billion, and N1.95 billion for electricity sold to them in the same quarters.
NERC noted that none of the international customers made any payment against the cumulative $16.11 million invoice issued to them in the first quarter of 2023. For bilateral customers, only North South/Star Pipe made a remittance of N15.38 million against its invoice of N24.69 million.
The development has raised concerns about the payment discipline of international and bilateral customers, despite Nigeria’s own struggles to meet its electricity demand. Industry players explained that Nigeria exports electricity based on strategic agreements with neighboring countries, but some of these international consumers have not been making adequate payments for the power exported to them.
