House leadership, stakeholders agree on 2-month free electricity supply

 

BY OUR REPORTER

The House of Representatives and stakeholders in the power sector Thursday agreed to set up a joint implementation committee on the proposed two-month free electricity supply to the poor and vulnerable Nigerians as part of the #COVID19 stimulus package.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of Power, Engr Sale Mamman, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari; Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), James Momoh; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), Marilyn Amobi, as well as representatives of Distribution Companies.

“The objective is very simple: we are asking people to stay at home for several days or weeks, so we need to make their stay at home comfortable. We need to help the poorest of the poorest at this time in Nigeria,” the Speaker said.

“Whatever the issues are within the power supply chain, they have to be dealt with and set aside, but how we deal with the issue at stake is why we are here today.

“I wouldn’t want to look at it as the DisCos or GenCos or even the TCN as the beneficiaries. For me, the ultimate beneficiary is the Nigerian people. If that is what the investment scheme takes, to supply power, it may not be 100%, but say 70 or 80%, then we would’ve succeeded.”

Expressing his disappointment over the non-existence of the Power Consumer Assistance Fund, the Speaker, citing Section 83 of the Electricity Power Sector Act said, “We’ve broken the law because the law mandated it; it is not optional. It’s the Act that mandated its establishment.

“If that had been set up, way back, perhaps we would have had the fund with which to assist this proposal. This is the kind of time that this fund was anticipating.

“I think we should look into setting up this fund because we don’t know when next this kind of issue may come up.”

READ: Gbajabiamila gives Chinese Ambassador Tuesday to explain maltreatment of Nigerians

In his remarks, the Minister of Power, Engr Sale Mamman, said the Executive arm is ready to contribute its part to the success of the proposal, saying, “We’ll give all the support as well as technical advice toward the realization of this objective.

On his part, the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, who noted that the issue of gas supply to the GenCos is critical to power supply in the country, said the proposal is workable if the issue of who is to carry the burden of cost and margins in the supply value chain is settled and agreed on.

Kyari said it was well noted of the actual beneficiaries of the two-month free power supply palliative because not every Nigerian falls into the category of the poorest. He pointed out that the industrial sector should be of concern at the end of the crisis period.

He said though 100 per cent uninterrupted power supply is impossible because not enough is generated due to the COVID-19 crisis, he assured that gas supply would not be an issue, as 100 per cent supply is guaranteed once the debt issue is addressed.

The DisCos assured that they can deliver the mandate as soon as all the details were worked out and agreed on.