Nigeria has placed significant restrictions on selling electricity to foreign customers, including Benin, as reported by acotnou.com. According to the source, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has officially stated its inability to deliver the usual amount of electric power intended for Benin, Niger, and Togo from Nigeria.
“The document specifies that electricity deliveries to Nigeria’s neighbors must not surpass 6% of the total grid electricity at any given time.” Nigeria has opted to enforce limitations on exporting electric power to these three neighboring countries. This is a temporary measure lasting six months, starting from May 1, 2024, with the aim of allowing Nigeria to adequately meet local demand.
Moreover, the source mentions that authorities and key external partners have occasionally failed to fulfill their contractual obligations to distribution companies.
As per a NERC report released in the last quarter of 2023, Nigeria’s international customers have amassed unpaid debts estimated at $12.02 million.
It’s noteworthy that in the recent past, Cote d’Ivoire also supplied electricity to Togo and Benin. According to an Ivorian official source, “Now that Ghana has become self-sufficient, it is this latter country that supplies Benin and Togo.”