The electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) have established a new revenue collection milestone of N777 billion in the first quarter of 2022 just as its investors have faulted the recent restructuring of five DisCos by the federal government.
The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) through its Executive Director, Research and Advocacy, Barr Sunday Oduntan, in a statement on Wednesday, said despite the unfavorable business environment, the DisCos were improving and installed 129,352 distribution transformers as of 2020 after the power sector privatization of 2013.
It said: “Establishment of a new revenue collection of N777 billion; the installation of 129,352 distribution transformers as of 2020 versus 75,041, in 2013, a 72% increase; Increased metering from 2.3 million in 2013 to 4.1m as of 2020, a 78% increase.”
Other feats by the DisCos include a reduction of average Aggregate Technical Commercial & Collection Losses (ATC&C), estimated in excess of 56%, pre-privatization) to 46.3%; increase in the number of registered customers from an estimate of fewer than 2m customers, pre-privatization, to 10.2m; establishment of 1,035 customer centers and the creation of 32,573 jobs as against the 23,515 at the privatization period.
The association also said the recent restructuring of the DisCos is unjustifiable and is being worsened by a resort to violations of the rule of law – expropriation of DisCos outside the privatization agreement including the arrest of the MD of Benin DisCo on August 15th, 2022, and the violation of a court order in favor of BEDC.
It noted that the Director General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) is also a board member of the companies as it cited the BPE’s 2021 Performance Assessment report of 9 DisCos, in which the government failed its commitments and investments to the DisCos.
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The report also faulted the lack of minor reviews from 2015-2019 by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) resulting in an N2.4 trillion tariff shortfall and “unfavorable regulatory guidelines negatively impacting DisCos source of revenue.”
BEDC tackles AGF on court orders expiration
Meanwhile, the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) Plc has dismissed an alleged opinion of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) that the ex parte orders of the Federal High Court for Vigeo Power Limited v. Fidelity Bank PLC & seven other on the 8th day of July 2022, had expired after 14 days.
According to a statement from BEDC yesterday, an online medium had reported on August 23, 2022, that cited the AGF.
“The law is that an order of court does not expire until the court pronounces so.”
