Nigeria owed nearly $6m power bill by neigbours in Q2 2024 while local supply unstable
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Nigeria is being owed $5.79 million power debt for the second quarter of 2024 (Q2 2024) by Togo and Benin Republic, two international bilateral electricity consumers that Nigeria is obliged to serve even while local supply does not meet demand.
Nigeria signed an agreement to supply power to Togo, Niger, and Benin Republic when Kanji dam was built (began in 1964; completed in 1968) to generate electricity in the Yakubu Gowon years (1966 to 1975) so that these countries would not dam the River Nigeria upfront and allow it to flow in full steam to the dam.
But Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) disclosed in its latest Q2 2024 report that out of the $15.60 million invoice issued by the market operator (MO) between April and June 2024, international customers remitted only $9.81 million.
Foreign companies off-taking power from Nigeria are Para-SBEE in Benin Republic (which owes $1.23 million), Transcorp-SBEE in Benin, Mainstream-NIGELEC in Togo ($1.09 million), and Odukpani-CEET in Togo ($3.47 million).
Para-SBEE in Benin remitted 71.21 per cent of the $4.29 million billed, Transcorp-SBEE in Benin remitted 100 per cent of its $4.25 million bill; Mainstream-NIGELEC in Togo paid 69.72 per cent of $3.59 million. Odukpani-CEET did not remit any amount.
According to the NERC, none of the four international bilateral customers made payments in Q1 2024 against the cumulative invoice of $14.19 million issued by the MO.
The Q2 2024 report noted, however, that some bilateral customers (both domestic and international) made payments for outstanding invoices from previous quarters.
“Cumulatively, the international bilateral customers paid a total of $16.65 million; Transcorp-SBEE and Mainstream-NIGELEC have made payments towards all outstanding invoices from previous quarters,” it disclosed.
“The four international bilateral customers being supplied by Gencos in the NESI made a payment of $9.81m against the cumulative invoice of $15.60m issued by the Market Operator for services rendered in 2024/Q2, translating to a remittance performance of 62.88 percent.”
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