- FG laments use of obsolete equipment for power distribution
Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has disclosed that the total revenue collected by the 11 distribution companies (DisCos) in the first quarter (Q1) of 2020 stood at N114.29 billion out of the total bill of N186.82 billion.
In its first quarter report, the commission said that in accordance with the trend in billing efficiency relative to the preceding quarter, the DisCos’ collection efficiency, the total revenue collected as a ratio of the total billing by DisCos, declined in 2020/Q1.
However, the overall collection efficiency for all the DisCos decreased to 61.18 per cent in the first quarter of 2020, representing 8.26 percentage points decrease from the 69.44 per cent collection efficiency recorded in 2019/Q4.
The collection efficiency implies that for every N10 worth of energy billed to customers by DisCos in the first quarter of 2020, approximately N3.88, remained unrecovered from customers when due. This low collection efficiency combined with billing inefficiency has continued to adversely impact the financial liquidity of the industry, which in turn, has led to low investment in Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), the commission observed.
Nevertheless, the commission scored Abuja DisCo the highest collection efficiency of 80.89 per cent, followed by Ikeja DisCo with 72.39 per cent. Port Harcourt DisCo has the lowest collection efficiency of 43.36 per cent.
But on a quarter-on-quarter basis, only Abuja and Kaduna DisCos recorded an improvement in collection efficiency. In particular, Kaduna DisCo recorded the highest increase of 3.65 percentage points moving from 40.44 per cent in 2019/Q4 to 44.09 per cent in the first quarter of 2020.
“Based on relative improvement from the preceding quarter, Ikeja, Kano and Port Harcourt DisCos recorded an improvement in billing efficiency. Port Harcourt DisCo recorded the highest increase of 9.08 percentage points, moving from 74.33 per cent in 2019/Q4 to 83.41 per cent in 2020/Q1. Ikeja DisCo recorded the lowest increment of 0.95 percentage point during the same period. Abuja, Benin, Eko, Enugu, Ibadan, Jos, Kaduna and Yola DisCos recorded a decline in their billing efficiencies during the quarter under review.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government, yesterday, expressed resentment over the obsolete equipment distribution companies (DisCos) use to distribute electricity.
This, it said, is the major cause of poor electricity distribution in the country.
Receiving the national executive members of Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), Minister of Power, Sale Mamman, appealed to Nigerian engineers not to grant certification for any equipment imported or installed on any project except they met the required standard.
He called on Nigerian engineers to make innovations or designs for various engineering activities as a way of establishing their own standard.
Mamman maintained that the country has continued to rely on foreign designs because the country’s engineers have not established their own.
The minister assured them that the Ministry of Power would collaborate with the NSE in its efforts to improve power generation, transmission and distribution in the country.
Earlier, the president of the society, Babagana Mohammed, had disclosed that in view of the lingering epileptic power supply in the country, NSE has constituted an ad-hoc committee to carry out a holistic study and assessment of the problems associated with generation, transmission and distribution of power in Nigeria.
He said the initiative was meant to complement the efforts of government to truthfully revitalise the energy sector.
Mohammed emphasised that the society and the Federal Ministry of Power have a collective duty and inescapable responsibility to provide lasting solutions to the power supply problem in Nigeria.
He, however, used the occasion to intimate the minister on some of the activities of the society.
