BLACKOUT: FG Sets Deadline to Resell DisCos
The federal government has given three month window to sell off the five electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) now under the management of banks and Asset Management Company (AMCON) in the to reputable technical power operators.
Recalled that Abuja Electricity Distribution Company ( AEDC ) is currently under the management of the United Bank of Africa (UBA), Fidelity Bank manages Benin Electricity Distribution Company, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, and Kano Electricity Distribution Company while Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company is under the AMCON management.
They all found themselves under the new management arrangement owing to their inability to repay their loans.
The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, who made this known l to the Senate Committee on Power was in an oversight visit to the ministry in Abuja, that the energy distribution assets are technical and as such, they should be under the management of technical experts.
He informed the committee that tough decisions on the DisCos have become necessary because the entire Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) fails when they refuse to perform.
According to him, the ministry will prevail on the Nigerian Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to revoke underperforming licenses and also change the management board of the DisCos if it becomes the solution.
Adelabu said, “Lastly, on distribution. Very soon you will see that tough decisions will be taken on the DisCos. They are the last lap of the sector. If they don’t perform, the entire sector is not performing.
” The entire ministry is not performing. We have put pressure on NERC, which is their regulator to make sure they raise the bar on regulation activities.
” If they have to withdraw licenses for non-performance, why not? If they have to change the board of management, why not?
“And all the DisCos that are still under AMCON and Banks, within the next three months, they must be sold to technical power operators with good reputations in utility management.
“We can no longer afford AMCON to run our DisCos. We can no longer afford the banks to run our DisCos. This is a technical industry and it must be run by technical experts.”
The minister also noted that it has become necessary to reorganize the DisCos for efficiency.
