THE federal government has threatened to revoke the licences of power distribution companies (DisCos) over the worsening power supply in the country.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said this in a statement on Wednesday, March 6, in Abuja.
While acknowledging the deteriorating electricity supply across the country, the Minister of Power said he has summoned the Chief Executives of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), as well as the Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), to a crucial meeting on how best to handle the situation.
He noted that despite the concerted efforts by the ministry to improve the situation, it’s disheartening to witness the decline in power supply.
“The Ministry has been exerting pressure on the Generating Companies (GENCOs) to enhance their performance, resulting in a recent increase in generation to over 4000MW. Despite this progress, 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.
“Moving forward, I am committed to holding all distribution companies accountable for their performance. Willful non-performance will not be tolerated, and severe consequences, including license revocation, may be imposed. Additionally, I have instructed TCN to prioritize repair works on damaged transmission towers and power lines to improve supply in affected regions.
“During recent supervisory visits to power generating plants, I have witnessed firsthand the challenges faced by the sector. Plans are underway to settle outstanding debts owed to power generation and gas supply companies, which will alleviate the financial strain and contribute to improved generation levels nationwide. I urge electricity consumers to remain patient as we work tirelessly to address these issues and provide better service to all Nigerians,” Adelabu added.
The ICIR had reported that there has been an abysmal power supply situation nationwide since the beginning of this year.
Several parts of Abuja have been experiencing a blackout as the TCN on Wednesday, February 28, confirmed the vandalisation of its transmission towers by vandals.
The transmission company said Tower 70 along its 330kV Gwagwalada-Katampe Transmission line was ‘seriously vandalised.’
The situation was similar in several parts of the country, with many Nigerians protesting against the epileptic and complete outage of power supply.
While expressing concern over the situation, Adelabu, via a letter signed by the Director of Distribution Services at the Federal Ministry of Power, B.U Mustapha, mandated the chief executives of the Discos and TCN to be present at a meeting set for next this week.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M