By Benjamin Ike
Foreign customers in Benin, Togo and Niger owe Nigeria up to N132.2 billion for electricity supplied to them, beginning from 2018 to the first quarter of 2023.
An analysis of quarterly reports produced by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) showed that the amount owed is from the N180.8 billion billed to the customers from which they paid N48.57 billion, representing only 26.8 percent.
The breakdown of the figure showed that Benin topped the debtors list with a bill to the tune of N72.1 billion through its Société Beninoise d’Energie Electrique (SBEE), followed by Niger Republic with N31.3 billion through its Société Nigerienne d’electricite (NIGELEC) and Togo with N10.03 billion through its Companie Energie Electrique Du Togo.
On a year-on-year analysis, the countries paid N650 million from the N47.25 billion given to them, while in 2019, they failed to pay any amount from the N40.6 billion.
In 2020, N10.4 billion was paid from N19.7 billion, while in 2022, they paid N32.7 billion from N52.02 billion. In Q3 2021, the companies paid N4.7 billion from the N8.76 billion bills given, while in the first quarter of 2023, the companies did not pay N12.3 billion bills.
Meanwhile Nigeria has reportedly cut its electricity supply to Niger, according to source close to Nigerien Electricity Company (Nigelec), citing sanctions decided by ECOWAS in response to the establishment of a military junta in Niger.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria, who is also the Chairman of ECOWAS, had announced sanctions against the putschists who toppled President-elect Mohamed Bazoum last month.
According to a report by Nigelec, the country’s sole supplier, in 2022, 70% of Niger’s share of electricity came off purchases from Mainstream, a utility company in Nigeria, which generates its own electricity from the Kainji Dam located in northwestern Nigeria.
Many neighborhoods in the city of Niamey are normally subject to power cuts and Nigeria’s recent decision to cut electrical power will likely aggravate this situation.
To free itself from its strong energy dependence on neighboring Nigeria, Niger is working to complete its first dam by 2025 along the River Niger. Located180 kilometers upstream from Niamey, the Kandadji Dam is expected to generate 629 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity annually.