Despite domestic power instability in Nigeria, the government still remain committed to exporting electricity to West African member states just to fulfil long-term regional treaty obligations, earn foreign exchange, and maintain water flow from the Niger River into the country's major dams.
In a recent development, Togo has shown interest in increasing electricity imports from Nigeria through the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) as it seeks to meet rising domestic power demand.
Due to this demand, Togolese officials—including Débo K’mba Barandao, Director General of Compagnie Energie Electrique du Togo—visited Nigeria to discuss how the existing cooperation could be expanded.
Notably, Togo currently purchases about 75 megawatts of electricity from the Niger Delta Power Holding Company under a bilateral power supply arrangement, K’mba said.
The Managing Director of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Jennifer Adighije, hosted the Togolese officials from the office of the Togo’s national electricity utility.
K’mba said the electricity generated from Nigeria have helped Togo to maintain reliable and affordable power supply to households, businesses and public institutions. It has also strengthened the stability of Togo’s national grid, he noted.
However, electricity demands in Togo has increased, according to K’mba. More consumers, particularly in the industrial and commercial sectors, have joined the country's national grids due to government efforts to expand electricity access nationwide.
“In view of this development, C.E.E.T is strongly interested in increasing the volume of electricity it off takes from NDPHC,” he said.
The MD of NDPHC, Jennifer Adighije, expressed willingness to expand the cooperation. She said NDPHC operates multiple power stations under the National Integrated Power Project, giving the company the capacity to increase electricity exports across neighbouring countries within West Africa.
Furthermore, Adighije noted that meeting the growing demand would require bankable and sustainable commercial agreements between the parties. She added that reliable financial guarantees and well-structured payment systems are necessary to minimise the risks linked to cross-border electricity trade.
Why Nigeria exports electricity despite its own power problems
Nigeria's commitment to increasing electricity exports to neighbouring countries, despite its failing national grid system, aligns with broader regional initiatives under the Economic Community of West African States aimed at strengthening electricity trade among member states.
According to the official, Nigeria must fulfil long-term regional treaty obligations, earn foreign exchange, and maintain water flow from the Niger River into major dams.
Nigeria’s national grid collapses several times each year. An electrical grid is a vast and interconnected network that generates, transmits, and distributes electricity from power plants to consumers.
It balances real-time demand with supply, making the utilization of high-voltage lines simplified for long-distance transport and transformers to step down voltage for safe usage. But as the infrastructures age, grid fails.
In the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC)'s January 2026 operational report, the Nigerian power system faced low electricity generation and unstable grid frequency, showing ongoing problems in the sector and a gap between the country’s installed capacity and the electricity actually available for use.
Notably, failing national grids require modernization into "smart grids" for better efficiency and renewable energy integration.
Despite all these challenges in its own power system, Nigerian government still agreed to deepen its electricity supply to Togo.
Should we say the government is trying to balance domestic grid limitations with its role in meeting the growing electricity demand of neighbouring West African states, or that it is simply demonstrating commitment to regional energy support and long-term treaty obligations?
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Togo, Niger, and Benin owed Nigeria N25bn for electricity
In January, NERC revealed that Togo, Niger, and Benin collectively owed Nigeria $17.8 million (over N25 billion) for electricity supplied under the bilateral agreements. During the third quarter of 2025, these countries were invoiced $18.69 million by the Market Operator for electricity they received.
However, they only paid $7.125 million of that amount, leaving a balance of $11.56 million for that quarter. From previous invoices totaling $14.07 million, they had already paid $7.84 million, leaving $6.23 million unpaid. Adding the old and new debts together, the total outstanding amount comes to about $17.6 million.
