The Federal Government of Nigeria is set to withdraw the licenses of five disCos, The Octopus News can exclusively report.
The affected distribution companies are Abuja, Ibadan, Enugu, Benin and Kaduna disCos.
The move, The Octopus News learnt is precipitated on the poor services the disCos have been offering since they were sold.
A source within the energy industry revealed that the afore listed disCos have not lived up to expectations in service delivery when compared to others in the industry, hence the decision to withdraw their licenses.
It will be recalled that the federal government had earlier threatened to revoke the licenses of power distribution companies (DisCos) over the incessant power shortage nationwide.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, had made the declaration in a statement in Abuja, adding that the FG was deeply concerned about the ongoing inadequate electricity distribution by the Discos, despite the generation companies increasing power output to 4000MW.
He said, “Ministry has been exerting pressure on the Generating Companies (GENCOs) to enhance their performance, resulting in a recent increase in generation to over 4000MW.
“Despite this progress, certain distribution companies are failing to adequately distribute the power supplied by TCN, while vandalism of power infrastructure exacerbates the problem in regions such as Abuja, Benin, Port Harcourt, and Ibadan.
“Moving forward, I am committed to holding all distribution companies accountable for their performance.
“Willful non-performance will not be tolerated, and severe consequences, including license revocation, may be imposed.”
In 2023, during the privatization program, a consortium led by Transcorp Power Limited acquired a 60 percent stake in Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC).
The acquisition subsequently led to the appointment of Christopher Ezeafulukwe, then the MD/CEO of Transcorp Power Ltd, Ughelli, a 972-MW thermal plant, as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of AEDC.
Ezeafulukwe, said to have the Midas touch was expected to transform AEDC responsible for supplying power to the nation’s capital, Nasarawa, Kogi and Niger States. however, the company has struggled to achieve this feat rather it has been trailed by a sorry tale of poor service delivery.
In January 2024, the DisCo was dragged to court by a customer.
The customer filed a lawsuit seeking N50 million in general damages over alleged erroneous billing practices from AEDC.
In an originating summon submitted to Justice Nicodemus Auwalu of High Court II in Lokoja, Ugochukwu Orakwue, a resident of Kogi, contended that the AEDC deliberately and inaccurately billed him for electricity, refusing to read his Postpaid Meter and instead relying on inflated estimated bills.
The plaintiff petitioned the court to issue an order restraining the AEDC from continuing to issue him electricity bills based on estimation, insisting that the bills should reflect the actual reading of his postpaid meter.
Furthermore, Orakwue sought a declaration that the AEDC’s practice of issuing bills based on estimation rather than meter readings violated the regulations set forth by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), deeming such actions illegal, null, and void.
However, AEDC is not the only DisCo caught in this web, as it is the same issue with Ibadan, Enugu, Benin and Kaduna DisCo who have all been epileptic in their distribution of energy.
In January 2024, NAN reported a threat of mass protest against the IBEDC by some communities in Ibadan.
The communities in Oluyole Estate Extension had given IBEDC a seven-day ultimatum to restore their power supply or face a mass protest at its office.
The communities, including Progressive Estate, Heritage Estate, Oorelope Community, Ore-Ofe Estate, and Ire-Akari Community, are fed by Ajinde Feeder of IBEDC. Operating under the Joint Community Development Association (CDA), expressed dissatisfaction with the recent spate of epileptic power supply.
The communities were particularly displeased with the power supply by IBEDC to their communities, stating that the situation had become unbearable for them.
The Benin Electricity Distribution Company, (BEDC) is also on the list of DisCos to lose their licenses, as it continues to battle prolonged poor performance.
BEDC, currently distributes electricity in Delta, Edo, Ekiti, and Ondo States, with a geographical coverage of 57,353 square kilometres, but has struggled for years to render this service.
Tales of poor services has also trailed BEDC, as there have been reports of insider crisis over the ownership and control of the DisCo which inadvertently has been negatively affecting electricity distribution thus impacting supply to consumers in the four states under the BEDC operational franchise.
In a statement released, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) noted that if the inside crisis is left unchecked, there is the risk of plunging the citizens of Delta, Edo, Ekiti and Ondo (under the BEDC franchise) into darkness.
In clarifying issues underlining the crisis, NERC acknowledged the BEDC as its distribution licensee, which by virtue of the powers vested in the Commission by the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, NERC was the primary authority vested with the powers to statutorily recognise the board/management of the company as an operator in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.
“The general public may wish to note that BEDC is jointly owned by private investors, with Vigeo Power Ltd holding an equity of 60 percent, and 40 percent being held by the Bureau of Public Enterprises on behalf of the federal and state governments.
“One of the shareholders in Vigeo Power Ltd, Vigeo Holdings Ltd, subscribed to its shares vide a loan from Fidelity Bank Ltd.
“In the light of a default in servicing the said loan, the bank has exercised its rights to repossess these shares that were provided as security for acquisition of the loan.
“Upon repossession of shares of Vigeo Holdings Ltd by the bank, an application was filed by the banks and the BPE with the Commission for the approval of an interim board of directors and management for BEDC in compliance with NERC’s business continuity arrangements for licensees,” NERC explained.
Also, NERC said after the review of the situation, it approved Messrs Henry Ajagbawa, K.C Akuma, Adeola ljose, Charles Onwera and Yomi Adeyemi as interim board of directors for BEDC, with Henry Ajagbawa as Managing Director.
The Commission said the decision by the former management of BEDC to challenge the appointment of the interim Board in court after the regulatory authority and shareholders interventions were completed was unsettling the primary obligations to customers in Edo, Ekiti, Delta and Ondo states.
In its reaction then, the BPE said although an Interim Board has been recognized by the regulatory authority and the Bureau has retaken operational control of the Headquarters in Benin, the crisis was still not resolved.
The Bureau said despite that the Interim Board had already taken financial control of the company, deployment of non-state actors by the former Board and Managing Director to forcefully disrupt its operations has continued to deepen the crisis.
Despite the issues dating back two years ago, the distribution challenges that were attributed to the insider tussle for control and ownership remains.
Post Views: 325
