See The 3 African Countries Owing Nigeria N32.04 Billion In Electricity Bill

 

Togo, Niger, and Benin Republic are the three countries owing N32.04 billion bills for the electricity Nigeria supplied to them in 2019, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has revealed.

 

The countries are among the three international customers Nigeria supplies electricity to.

 

Niger’s power firm, Societe Nigerienne electricity, failed to pay a total invoice of N3.01 billion it received in the first quarter of 2019; N3.69 billion in the second quarter, N4.1 billion in the third quarter and N2.07 in the fourth quarter.

 

Communaute Electrique du Benin, a power firm owned by Togo and Benin, did not pay N9.74 billion for the power supplied to it in the first quarter; N7.16 billion in the second quarter; and N2.27 billion in the third quarter.

 

It, however, did not receive any invoice for the fourth quarter of 2019.

 

NERC said in its latest quarterly report that during the quarter under review, the special and international class of customers made no payment to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and the Market Operator.

 

The NERC quarterly report analyses the state of the Nigerian electricity industry (covering both the operational and commercial performance), regulatory functions, consumer affairs as well as the commission’s finances and staff development.

“The Federal Government has continued to engage the governments of neighbouring countries benefitting from the export supply to ensure timely payments for the electricity purchased from Nigeria,” it said.

 

Like its last report, the commission laments that the financial viability of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry is still a major challenge threatening its sustainability.