Why FG may Revoke DisCos Licences – Power Minister

The federal government has threatened tough sanctions, including licence revocation, against Distribution companies over epileptic power supply and ‘wilful non-performance’.  It also said Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) are to be held accountable henceforth for poor power supply in the country.  Power Minister, Adebayo Adelabu issued the threat in a statement, describing as “disheartening” the decline in power supply despite the concerted efforts to improve the situation. He noted that his Ministry has been exerting pressure on the GenCos to enhance their performance, resulting in a recent increase in generation to over 4000MW. “Moving forward, I’m committed to holding all distribution companies accountable for their performance. “Wilful non-performance will not be tolerated, and severe consequences, including licence revocation, may be imposed,” the minister said in a statement. Expressing concern over erratic electricity supply, Adelabu has summoned the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) for an emergency meeting on Tuesday. The supply of electricity has dipped across the country in the last three months, due to many reasons, including lack of adequate gas supply, grid breakdown, low supply from Generating Companies (GenCos), the inability of DisCos to wheel supply from GenCos and sabotage.  The minister also expressed concern over the poor performance of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI). Adelabu, who tweeted on his X handle, reiterated the reasons for summoning the AEDC and IBEDC chief executives and the TCN Managing Director. He gave the reason as an attempt to find a plausible solution to the power supply in their zones. “Despite this progress”, the minister said, “certain distribution companies are failing to adequately distribute the power supplied by TCN, while vandalism of power infrastructure exacerbates the problem in regions such as Abuja, Benin, Port Harcourt, and Ibadan. “The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the worsening power supply in their respective regions and to collectively find lasting solutions.” The minister threatened to henceforth hold the DisCos accountable for their performance. He said: “Willful non-performance will not be tolerated, and severe consequences, including license revocation, may be imposed. “Additionally, I have instructed TCN to prioritise repair works on damaged transmission towers and power lines to improve supply in affected regions.” Adelabu recalled that during recent supervisory visits to power-generating plants, he witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by the sector. He spoke of plans to settle outstanding debts to power generation and gas supply companies, which will alleviate the financial strain and contribute to improved generation levels nationwide. Pleading with consumers for understanding, Adelabu said he and his team had been making frantic efforts to tackle the challenges. “I urge electricity consumers to remain patient as we work tirelessly to address these issues and provide better service to all Nigerians,” he said. It was gathered that the payment of $120 million out of the $1.3 trillion owed to the gas suppliers has unsettled the GenCos. The GenCos are said to be meeting to press for the payment of their outstanding debts. A source from the GenCos, who was privy to the meeting, said: “Since the Federal Government has made $120 million payment to the gas suppliers as part of their debt, we are also meeting to ask the same government to settle us, the GenCos.” Adelabu’s Special Adviser on Strategic Communications and Media Relations, Bolaji Tunji, confirmed the scheduled meeting with the TCN and DisCos.

Don’t connect unmetered customers, NERC tells DisCos

*Says only 5.3m electricity consumers metered The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has cautioned Electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) to refrain from connecting new customers who have not been allocated meters. According to the information which was disclosed in a statement via its X (Twitter) handle, the commission cited the 2023 Electricity Act which “mandates it to ensure DisCos provide quality service to customers. The Commission also emphasised that all new electricity connections must be done strictly based on metering before connection. “All new electricity connections must be done strictly based on metering before connection. “That is, no new customer should be connected by a DisCos without a meter first being installed at the premises.” The commission has for some time, battled numerous complaints about estimated billing as well as default in supplying meters by DisCos from customers. The commission has for some time, battled numerous complaints about estimated billing as well as default in supplying meters by DisCos from customers. According to NERC’s customer enumeration data, as of March 2023, 7 million customers were unmetered. Data from the Commission further revealed that about 3 million meters were outdated and due for replacement. The regulators’ first quarter 2023 report showed that there were 12.3 million registered customers, and just 43.3% (5.3 million) of them were metered. The remaining 56.69% of customers, about 7 million, are unmetered and are served via estimated billing which is a major issue for the Commission. To resolve the crisis surrounding the meter issues, NERC came up with an idea – Credited Advance Payment for Metering Implementation – CAPMI. CAPMI was created to solve the slow pace of customer metering by the DisCos, as well as resolve the complaints received from customers dissatisfied with the current estimated billing practices. With CAPMI, customers were allowed to pay the cost of the meter into a dedicated account jointly managed by the DisCos and the meter Vendors/Installers. The allocated meters would be installed within 45 days by a NERC accredited Vendor/Installer once the payment was confirmed.