- International customers, including Benin Republic, Niger, and Togo, failed to pay a $14.19 million electricity bill for Q1 2024, while local bilateral customers within Nigeria also did not settle a N1.86 billion bill for the same period.
- Nigeria’s average available generation capacity dropped by 13.68% to 4,249.10MW in Q1 2024, primarily due to reduced capacities at 17 27 grid-connected power plants.
- The Federal Government has limited electricity supply to 6% of the available grid generation per hour. NERC mandating that generation companies allocate no more than 10% of their capacity to international customers over the next six months.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) reported that international customers did not pay $14.19 million for electricity supplied in the first quarter of 2024. None of the four international customers, including neighbouring countries like Benin Republic, Niger, and Togo, made any payments during this period.
NERC’s report stated, “In 2024/Q1, none of the four international bilateral customers serviced by the Market Operator (MO) made any payment against the $14.19 million invoice issued to them.” Local bilateral customers within Nigeria also did not settle the cumulative N1.86 billion billed for services provided in the same quarter.
However, the report highlighted that customers settled debts from previous quarters. Two international customers paid about $5.19 million in outstanding bills, while eight local customers in Nigeria paid around N505.71 million.
During Q1 2024, Distribution Companies (DisCos) received a bill of N114.12 billion for upstream services. This amount included N65.96 billion for generation costs and N48.16 billion for transmission and administrative services. The DisCos collectively paid N110.62 billion, leaving an unpaid balance of N3.50 billion. This reflects a 96.93% remittance performance, a significant improvement from the 69.88% recorded in the fourth quarter of 2023.
The report noted a decline in the average available generation capacity across all power plants in Nigeria. The capacity dropped to 4,249.10MW in Q1 2024, down 13.68% from the 4,922.26MW recorded in Q4 2023. This drop resulted from reduced generation capacities at 17 27 grid-connected power plants.
The report stated, “In 2024/Q1, the average hourly generation of available units decreased by 8.22% from 4,433.82MWh/h in 2023/Q4 to 4,069.57MWh/h.” Total electricity generation for the quarter fell by 9.21%, from 9,789.87GWh in Q4 2023 to 8,887.93GWh. The decrease stemmed primarily from the reduced capacities of grid-connected power plants.
The report followed the federal government’s previous disclosure that international electricity consumers owed Nigeria approximately $51.26 million for electricity exported in 2023. In response, the Federal Government directed system operators in May to limit electricity supplied to international customers to no more than 6% of total available grid generation per hour.
NERC also issued a directive to electricity generation companies, criticising the practice of prioritising international customers over local distribution companies (DisCos) during grid imbalances. The commission called this practice inefficient and unfair. Under the new order, generation companies must allocate no more than 10% of their capacity to international customers over the next six months.
The report underscores the ongoing challenges in Nigeria’s power sector, particularly with international debtors and the country’s struggling generation capacity. This situation raises concerns about the sustainability of exporting electricity while local demands remain unmet.