Ajaokuta Steel Risks Disconnection Over N5.46bn Electricity Debt
The moribund Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited and its host community risk being disconnected from electricity supply over unpaid bills totalling N5.46bn, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said.
In its just-released 2025 Annual Report, NERC said the company failed to pay any of the energy invoices and service charges issued by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc and the Market Operator during the year.
According to the report, Ajaokuta received an energy invoice of N4.96bn from NBET in 2025 and a N500m service charge invoice from the Market Operator, but made no payment.
“Ajaokuta Steel Co. Ltd and the host community did not make any payment for the N4.96bn and N0.50bn energy invoices and service charges received from NBET and MO, respectively, in 2025,” the commission said.
NERC said it had escalated the matter to relevant federal ministries for intervention, warning that continued non-payment could lead to disconnection.
“Failure to settle the obligations may put the Ajaokuta complex at risk of being disconnected from its service providers on the grounds of gross indebtedness,” it stated.
The disclosure comes amid the Federal Government’s renewed efforts to revive the Ajaokuta Steel Complex, which has remained largely inactive decades after construction began.
NERC noted that the debt highlights the financial challenges confronting the complex and the wider difficulties with payment of electricity bills by some government-linked institutions.
The commission also reported that international bilateral customers remitted $62.75m out of a $73.91m invoice, representing 84.90 per cent performance in 2025. Local bilateral customers paid N12.75bn out of N13.20bn, representing 96.60 per cent.