The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) has started settling N728.979 billion in legacy debts owed to power generation companies and their gas suppliers.
The payment follows the issuance and signing of its Series 2 bonds.
The money covers electricity and gas supplied in previous years. Those unpaid bills had weakened generators’ finances, held back plant maintenance and pressured the gas supply needed to produce electricity.
NBET said the settlement comprises N402 billion in cash bonds and N326.979 billion in non-cash bonds, structured under an approved framework.
The issuance is part of the N4 trillion Power Sector Multi-Instrument Issuance Programme, an intervention under the Presidential Power Sector Debt Reduction Programme.
Approved in 2025, the programme targets verified legacy debts owed to generation companies and aims to ease financial pressure across the sector.
This is the second tranche. Together with the N501 billion issued in January 2026, the two bond issuances have raised roughly N1.23 trillion.
NBET Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Akin Odeyemi, said the payments would restore liquidity across the electricity value chain and strengthen the financial position of participating companies.
He said financially healthier generators would be better placed to maintain and upgrade their plants, raise electricity production and support more dependable supply.
The intervention, he added, would encourage stronger payment discipline, improve cash-flow sustainability and give investors more confidence in the electricity market.
For consumers, the potential benefit is fewer disruptions tied to generators’ financial troubles. Businesses could spend less on backup power, while households could get longer periods of supply.
But debt repayment alone does not guarantee immediate improvement. Gains will also depend on plant performance, gas availability and whether transmission and distribution infrastructure can move the power.
Generation companies have warned that clearing old debts without addressing new arrears could leave the sector facing the same problem.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Power Generation Companies, Dr Joy Ogaji, previously called for a sustainable solution covering both outstanding obligations and fresh liabilities.
She noted that the bond programme covered debts up to December 2024, while obligations from 2025 and 2026 continued to accumulate.
Nigeria Consumer Protection Network President, Kunle Olubiyo, also cautioned that public funding would achieve limited results if inefficiencies and financial leakages persisted.
He warned that weak oversight and inflated claims could raise costs ultimately borne by consumers.
The road ahead
Odeyemi said NBET was preparing for the second phase of the programme, as the government pursues its wider plan to raise up to N4 trillion for verified power-sector obligations.
For households and businesses, the test is whether these financial interventions translate into steadier electricity, and whether the sector avoids another cycle of unpaid bills that undermines generation and supply.
