The federal government plans to pay off legacy electricity debts owed to the 11 electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) in the country by its ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
The minister of Power, works and housing, Babatunde Fashola stated this yesterday while speaking at the public dialogue organised by the Kukah Centre in Abuja, saying government must live by example.
“We are in the process of winding down MDAs debt, I have written to the debt management office and I got a response from them proposing options to wind down the debts and I think as government, we must live by example, If we ask people to pay for what they use, then we must pay as well and I am determined to ensure that we do that,” he said.
He informed that the ministry of defence through the minister was also acting in concert, adding “it is something we hope that before the end of the year, we wind down.”
The 11 Discos through the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) has said that government’s MDAs owed about N93 billion in unpaid electricity bills over the years.
A breakdown of the debt profile showed that the Nigerian Army is the largest debtor with about N38 billion as at April ending, followed by the Nigerian Airforce with N3.09 billion, Navy N3.3 billion, Police N4.66 billion, Customs 528.78 million and Prisons N895.6 million.
Meanwhile, the minister also stated that the sustained sabotage of oil pipeline in the Niger Delta by militant groups has rendered the country’s public electricity supply system extremely vulnerable.
He stated this when he launched the Building Energy Efficiency Guideline (BEEG) for Nigeria, adding that in view of the frequency in breakage of pipelines that supply gas to thermal power plants in the country, government has stepped up its effort to diversify the country’s energy sources.
He noted that the effort would include accelerating works on several hydro power projects, as well as other energy sources with the potential to minimise the impact that such cuts in gas supply exert on power supply.
He emphasised that unless new energy sources were brought to the grid, militants and other criminal elements would continue to hold the country at ransom.
