ASSOCIATION of Power Generation Companies (APGC) has rejected allegations of “institutionalised extortion” levelled against power firms by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), describing the claims as misleading and unfair to operators struggling to keep electricity flowing amid deep financial challenges.

In a statement signed by the association’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Joy Ogaji, the group said recent comments credited to the NLC President, Joe Ajaero, misrepresented the realities of Nigeria’s electricity market and undermined efforts to stabilise the sector.
This is coming against the backdrop of the NLC President’s public warning that power companies were engaged in “institutionalised extortion” and that government support for the industry amounted to a hidden subsidy designed to “settle the boys.”

But the Generation Companies (GenCos) said such characterisation was “a simplistic and inflammatory narrative” that ignored the complex problems facing electricity generation.

The statement reads: “While we acknowledge the frustrations of Nigerians regarding the unstable power supply, we must firmly reject the NLC’s characterisation of the sector’s challenges.

“To label the legitimate operations of power firms as ‘robbery’ and a ‘grand deception’ is a misrepresentation of facts and a disservice to the ongoing efforts to stabilise Nigeria’s electricity supply industry.”

The association also dismissed suggestions that proposed government support for the sector was a covert plan to benefit a few individuals ahead of elections.

“We strongly refute the insinuation that the proposed government support for the sector is a clandestine plan to ‘settle the boys’ ahead of elections. Such a claim is baseless, offensive to the professionals working tirelessly in the sector and undermines the critical liquidity interventions needed to keep the lights on,” it said.

Questioning the logic behind the allegation, the group asked: “Who are the boys the NLC is referring to? Is power generation meant for boys? Which election is the NLC talking about? What is the nexus between power generation and election?”

The GenCos said they were worried that, in a bid to remain relevant, the NLC had ventured into technical territory where it lacked competence, stressing that more than a decade after privatisation, the power sector remained “hamstrung by severe liquidity challenges.”

Addressing claims circulating in the industry that generation companies were fraudulent and should be probed by auditors and legal experts, the association said its members were open to scrutiny.

“Should the NLC and any other institution find it necessary, let it be known that GenCo books are ready for any forensic examination that they can be subjected to,” the statement added.
It noted that GenCos, entitled to about 60 per cent of market receivables based on invoiced energy, currently bear the greatest risk in the electricity value chain, with unpaid invoices now exceeding N6 trillion.

The association warned that attempting to smear the image of generation companies with what it described as unfounded allegations was misleading to Nigerians and created the false impression that the sector was unregulated.

“GenCos deserve pity and not castigation. Trying to paint them as robbers gives the impression that electricity market participants can do as they please, unchecked, which is simply not true,” the statement reads.