OpeOluwani Akintayo
30 August 2018, Sweetcrude, Lagos — Nigeria’s international customers and the Ajaokuta Steel, regarded as a special customer, are owing a total N21 billion for electricity supply in the third quarter of 2017.
This was revealed by the market regulator, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, in its 2017 third-quarter report released on Tuesday.
During the third quarter, the total invoice issued to international customers – Community Electric du Benin, CEB/SAKETE and Niger Republic’s NIGELEC and the special customer, Ajaokuta Steel, stood at ₦21 billion.
CEB/SAKETE and NIGELEC are directly connected to the national grid through an inter-connector and have a commercial relationship with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading company, NBET.
However, NERC said no payment was received from these customers during the quarter under review. “On account of the bilateral nature of the export of energy to the Republics of Niger and Benin, efforts are being made at the appropriate levels to ensure that the utilities pay for the energy supplied from Nigeria”, NERC said.
