Electricity generation companies (GenCos) in Nigeria received a total of $7.12 million and N3.19 billion from bilateral customers in Q3 2025, highlighting persistent payment challenges—especially among international customers.
This is according to the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Q3 2025 report.
The report shows that while domestic bilateral customers maintained relatively strong payment performance, international bilateral customers continued to lag significantly, raising concerns about liquidity and market sustainability.
What the report is saying
NERC disclosed that three international bilateral customers supplied by GenCos in Q3 2025 paid $7.12 million out of a cumulative invoice of $18.69 million issued by the MO, representing a 38.09% remittance performance.
In contrast, domestic bilateral customers remitted N3.19 billion against a total invoice of N3.64 billion, translating to a much stronger 87.61% remittance performance during the same period.
A breakdown of international payments shows that Transcorp–SBEE (Ughelli) remitted $1.42 million, while Mainstream–NIGELEC accounted for the bulk of payments with $5.7 million in Q3 2025.
Beyond current-quarter obligations, NERC noted that some bilateral customers made arrears payments for outstanding MO invoices from previous quarters.
“It is noteworthy that some bilateral customers also made payments for outstanding MO invoices from previous quarters, as follows: the MO received $7.84 million from the international bilateral customers and N1,299.66 million from the domestic bilateral customers,” NERC stated.
However, the report also highlighted a persistent challenge with a special customer category. Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and its host community failed to make any payment toward invoices issued in Q3 2025, owing N1.03 billion to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc and N0.10 billion to the Market Operator.
“This continues a longstanding trend of non-payment by this customer, and the Commission has communicated the need for intervention on this issue to the relevant FGN authorities,” NERC report noted.
Why this matters
Remittance performance remains a critical issue in Nigeria’s electricity market, as poor collections weaken liquidity, constrain power generation, and threaten the financial viability of GenCos and other market participants.
The sharp contrast between domestic and international bilateral payment performance also demonstrates foreign settlement risks, while persistent defaults highlight structural challenges that require government-level intervention.
What you should know
Bilateral customers purchase electricity directly from GenCos outside the central pool managed by NBET.
Poor remittance performance has been a recurring issue in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, contributing to sector-wide liquidity constraints.
Nairametrics has reported extensively on NBET payment shortfalls, GenCos’ revenue challenges, and NERC’s regulatory interventions aimed at stabilizing the power sector.
In 2025, the Federal Government issued the first bond under the Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Programme, marking a major step in efforts to address longstanding payment arrears in Nigeria’s electricity industry.
The N590 billion Series 1 Power Sector Bond was issued by NBET Finance Company Plc, a special purpose vehicle of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc.
