The Federal Government has said that the monthly fixed charges component of the electricity tariff collected from Nigerian consumers is not “a very good thing”.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Power, Ambassador Godknows Igali, stated this on Wedesday while addressing State House journalists after briefing President Muhammadu Buhari on the activities of the ministry.
Igali also stated that the ministry was currently “tracking” power distribution companies to make them improve their networks as well as provide transformers and meters “because Nigerians are tired of estimated billing”.
The permanent secretary was reacting to the Tuesday’s resolution by the Senate urging the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to put an end to the practice of the electricity fixed charges.
Igali said NERC Chairman, Sam Amadi with him earlier on Wednesday to ask about measures that could be taken to address “genuine” concerns being raised by Nigerians on the issue.
“These are things that will be discussed. The Senate discussed it. NERC chairman met me this (yesterday) morning asking what measures we can take to be able to address the concerns being raised by Nigerians; genuine concerns, because if light is not there, and then you see the bills all the time, it is not a very good thing. So, we’ve discussed with the chairman of NERC, and these matters are being addressed and very soon NERC will be reacting to what the Senate has said”, he said.
The permanent secretary said his ministry was tracking the power distribution companies (DISCOs) to ensure that “what is needed at the distribution level is done”.
He said: “Distribution remains a challenge because that’s where customers feel it most. A lot of the discos, we’re working with them very closely tracking them to make sure that what is needed at the distribution level is done. They must improve on their network, they must improve on the availability of transformers and the supply of meters because Nigerians are tired of estimated billing. So, we’ve been working closely with them, tracking them and sometimes even fining them”.
Igali, however, said that his ministry would meet and discuss with the Senate to enlighten senators “a little bit more” on the process of the value chain of power supply.
“Electricity supply is now in the hands of mostly private sector. If it’s in the hands of the private sector, then, it means that the private sector people must bring copious investments into the sector. And if they must bring in investments, then it means that they must earn revenue to be able to bring in investment. It is a-chicken-and-egg situation. If the power supply situation must improve, especially at the distribution level, they must provide transformers, they must provide switch gears, they must provide meters”, he said.
Igali said within the past two months, the country had consistently been generating over 4,500 megawatts of electricity, and over 4,600 at the moment, saying it could get better.
According to the permanent secretary, this is a big improvement because in the past when the nation attained 4,000mw, pipeline disruption often dipped it to 2,000mw.
Igali had told Buhari that gas was available to take power generation to 5,500mw in a short time, saying, however, that the nation needed to expand its electricity infrastructure to accommodate additional power generation.
In his remarks, Buhari disclosed that his government had already identified the critical problems in the nation’s power sector and was taking appropriate actions to address them.
According to the president, the problems with the nation’s power sector are more with transmission than generation.
The president specifically stressed the need to secure power infrastructure across the country.
He said: “The problems besetting our power sector are not difficult to identify. Therefore, priorities can be easily set in order to tackle them. The problems are more with transmission than generation, and we equally need to secure the power infrastructure round the country. We will address all these issues”, Buhari assured.
He said his government would give the fullest possible attention to boosting power supply in Nigeria because it was convinced that steady electricity would launch the country into faster socio-economic development.
The president noted that his administration had prioritised certain measures in its action plan to boost electricity supply in Nigeria.
