ABUJA, Nigeria – Foreign consumers in Benin, Togo, and Niger owe Nigeria a staggering sum of N132.2 billion for electricity supply from 2018 to Q1 2023, as unveiled on Monday, August 21, 2023, in the latest analysis of quarterly reports by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC.
The report reveals a mounting debt situation, with only 26.8% of the N180.8bn billed to these countries being paid.
Specifically, Benin owes the highest, with a bill of N72.1 billion via its Société Beninoise d’Energie Electrique, SBEE.
Niger Republic follows, owing N31.3 billion through its Société Nigerenne d’electricite, NIGELEC, and lastly, Togo with a debt of N10.03 billion routed via its Companie Energie Electrique Du Togo.
The historical data paints a gloomy picture of payment compliance.
In 2019, the countries didn’t remit any part of their N40.6 billion bills.
However, there was a slight improvement in 2020 and 2022 with payments of N10.4 billion and N32.7 billion respectively.
NERC has expressed its concern over the growing non-payment trend and has hinted at possible sanctions.
There’s an impending threat to let the Market Operations department of the Transmission Commission Company of Nigeria enforce stricter payment discipline among the defaulting nations.
However, despite the looming debt and occasional threats, Nigeria has consistently provided electricity to these countries.
The only exception being Niger, which faced a halt post the recent coup.
TCN’s Managing Director, Sule Abdulaziz, elucidated that this ongoing power supply is the outcome of an inter-country agreement aimed at generating foreign exchange for Nigeria.
A pivotal component of this accord was to deter countries upstream of the River Niger from establishing dams, thus ensuring Nigeria’s hydropower electricity plants run uninterrupted.
Highlighting the gravity of the situation, Nnaemeka Ewelukwa, MD of The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading, NBET, stressed, “We have dammed the river, and if we don’t provide electricity to countries upstream on the river, they can also build their dams which will create a major crisis for the country.”
Niger had previously attempted to curtail its reliance on Nigeria. It awarded its Kandadji hydroelectric dam project to a Russian Company in 2010, but the project faced cancellations due to delays.
Now under the Chinese company, Gezhouba Group Company Limited, CGGC, the project has faced suspensions due to financial constraints induced by ECOWAS’s economic sanctions.
While Nigeria’s move to supply power to its neighbors appears as a goodwill gesture, the growing debt is a concerning issue.
The country will need to strike a balance between regional cooperation and its own economic well-being.
