Nigeria’s electricity generation companies in Q3 2025 received $7.12 million and ₦3.19 billion from bilateral customers, underscoring ongoing payment challenges, particularly with international clients.
This was disclosed in the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission Q3 2025 report, according to Nairameteics.
The domestic bilateral customers generally maintained solid payment performance, while international counterparts fell significantly behind, raising concerns about sector liquidity and long-term market sustainability.
NERC reported that three international bilateral customers supplied by GenCos in Q3 2025 paid $7.12 million of a total $18.69 million invoiced by the Market Operator (MO), reflecting a 38.09 per cent remittance rate.
By comparison, domestic bilateral customers remitted ₦3.19 billion against invoices totaling ₦3.64 billion, achieving a significantly higher 87.61 per remittance performance during the same period.
A closer look at international payments reveals that Transcorp, SBEE (Ughelli) contributed $1.42 million, while Mainstream, NIGELEC accounted for the bulk of the remittance with $5.7 million in Q3 2025.
Beyond current-quarter obligations, NERC observed that some bilateral customers also settled arrears on outstanding Market Operator invoices from prior 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 ongoing challenges with a special customer category. Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and its host community did not make any payments toward Q3 2025 invoices, leaving ₦1.03 billion owed to Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and ₦0.10 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.
Remittance performance continues to be a critical concern in Nigeria’s electricity market, as weak collections undermine liquidity, limit power generation, and threaten the financial stability of GenCos and other market participants.
The stark contrast between domestic and international bilateral payments underscores foreign settlement risks, while recurring defaults point to structural challenges that call for government-level intervention.
