Federal Government, yesterday, directed the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), to withdraw licences of non-performing electricity distribution companies, Distribution Companies (DisCos).
The government accused the DisCos of not doing enough to improve supply despite the availability of power on the national grid. The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, who stated this during a meeting with heads of agencies in Abuja, said the distribution segment remained the weakest link in the electricity supply value chain.
Adelabu stressed that NERC must look for creative ways of getting the DisCos to improve supply including the imposition of stiff sanctions on utilities, which fail to pick their allocations and outright cancellation of licences.
He insisted that the franchise areas covered by the DisCos were too large, adding the government would pursue a restructuring that would create smaller DisCos with companies restricted to one state each.
“Distribution is our weakest point and it is the closest to the consumers. If we don’t get distribution right, to Nigerians, we’re not doing anything. So, efforts need to be put on this. In fact, we must intensify our efforts in ensuring that we address all issues relating to distribution,” he said
The minister pointed out that willful refusal by any DisCo to take up available power “is a qualified basis for the revocation of licences too”, adding that the distribution companies must be ready to pick up 90-99 per cent of load allocated to them.
He described the ongoing electricity rationing across the country as unacceptable, disclosing the government plans to improve power generation from the present 4,000MW to 6,000MW in the next six months.
This, he said, would be achieved by paying off substantial debts owed to power generation companies and gas suppliers.
“So what we are looking at is to have an agreement to ramp up to a minimum of 6,000 megawatts within the next three to six months. I know that the highest we ever generated was 5,700, about three years ago. That was specifically November, 2021.
“And this 5,700 was also distributed. If we could achieve 5,700 at that time, I believe we still have infrastructure to generate between 6,000 and 6,500. In terms of the generating companies, I have no doubt in my mind that the existing capacity can give us 6,500 once there is stability in supply of gas.”
