Victor EzejaMinister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has summoned the Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Sule Ahmed Abdulazeez, and also Chief Executives of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) following complaints of worsening power supply in the regions.
This was confirmed in a statement signed by Bolaji Tunji, special adviser to the minister on strategic communications.
The statement cited a letter signed by Engineer B.U. Mustapha, Director of Distribution Services at the Federal Ministry of Power, extending invitation to the CEOs of these organizations to a meeting with the Minister of power in the upcoming week to discuss issues that are causing the quality of the electricity supply in their areas to deteriorate and to propose a long-term solution.
“These two DisCos have been summoned due to the worsening power supply situation in their regions despite improved supply from TCN,” Adelabu stated.
“Gas shortage notwithstanding, the Ministry had been putting pressure on the Generating Companies (GENCOs) to improve performance and generation has been ramped up to over 4000MW in recent days.
“So, we expect power supply to have improved across the country, unlike what we are experiencing in some regions, presently.”
The minister said investigations revealed that some DisCos were deliberatley not taking up power supply from TCN while some power lines were also damaged by vandals in Abuja, Benin, Port Harcourt and Ibadan regions.
READ ALSO: Nigerians Face Near-zero Power Supply Amid Intense Heat Waves
The minister went on to say that moving forward, all DisCos would be compelled to perform to expected levels, and that anyone that deliberately fail to perform would face harsh penalties or total termination of their operational license.
In order to improve supplies in the affected regions, the Minister has also instructed TCN to start repair work on the damaged power lines and transmission towers right away.
The power minister has in recent times conducted a supervisory visit to some power generating plants in the country.
Adelabu had also while briefing newsmen recently in Abuja, lamented that the federal government currently has a debt burden in the electricity sector. According to him, the government is indebted to electricity-generating companies to the tune of ₦1.3 trillion, while the debt to gas companies was $1.3 billion.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
