Following the challenges of low power allocation occasioned by the lack of gas supply to generating companies, electricity distribution companies have cried out over revenue losses.
The distribution companies said the low power allocation was affecting their operations, making payment of salaries and other expenses difficult.
The PUNCH reports that for more than a month, the country has been battling low power supply as gas companies refused to supply gas to power-generating companies.
The Minister for Power, Bayo Adelabu, explained the gas companies decided to suspend because they were owed about N1.3bn.
In an exclusive interview with our correspondent, the Executive Director of Research and Advocacy of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, Sunday Oduntan, said the effect of the current challenges in the power sector is dragging DisCos into debt.
Asked about the effects of the current situation on DisCos’ operations, he retorted: “A distributor of a product, who goes and gets the product on credit, sells it and pays back; now the product is not available, and he has some recurrent expenditures to take care of – staff salaries, vehicles, fuel, rents; so many other recurrent expenditures, and of course, capital expenditure.
“If the product is not available, you asked how it affects our operations; of course it does! It will affect operations in any sector, anywhere.
“The challenge of low allocation is affecting our operations, it’s affecting our liquidity, is making us go more and more into debt. We are already indebted, heavily. So, it is affecting our operations,” Oduntan stated.
He added that the current power problem was affecting DisCos’ efficiency because people want electricity for their homes and businesses.
According to Oduntan, the distribution companies are the closest to the people, so the customers accuse them of inefficiency.
“People don’t know about generating companies or those in charge of transmission. It is somebody who knows about this sector who can understand a bit of technicality when we say there is low allocation, gas shortage, and unavailability of gas for the gas-fired stations.
“Only a few can understand when we say the hydro contributes less than 30 per cent to the national production of power,” he noted.
Oduntan maintained that the hydropower plants in Nigeria were not enough to power the country, saying whenever there was no gas to power thermal plants, there would be any power supply.
“All the three hydropower plants – Shiroro, Jebba, Kainji – put them all together, they don’t give up to 50 per cent of the output; that means we rely heavily in Nigeria on gas-fired stations, on thermal power plants, that is power plants that use gas as fuel.
“So, for that reason, anytime there is no gas, then there will not be light. Anytime there is no light, will there be income? No!
“Even when there’s light, people are stealing the energy everywhere. With those kinds of challenges, things are pretty tough for us. We are all really in a very difficult situation,” he remarked.
Oduntan charged the Federal Government to consult all stakeholders to chart the way out of the current situation.
