Okechukwu Nnodim
Power distribution companies received a total invoice of N44.85bn for the quantum of electricity they received in January this year but the firms remitted only N2.7bn.
Documents obtained from the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Company on the latest remittances by the Discos for power received in January 2018 showed that the firms had a combined remittance of 6.04 per cent in the month under review.
Nigeria has 11 power distribution companies and they get the electricity that they distribute from power generation companies.
NBET, popularly referred to as bulk trader, is the power trading arm of the sector collecting funds from electricity distributors to pay power generation companies.
The bulk trader in its summary of Discos’ and Gencos’ invoices and payments for January 2018 cycle stated that the average hourly energy sent out by the power generation companies was 3,584.55 megawatts-hour/month.
It said the total energy sent out by the Gencos during the period was 2,666,906.88MWh, while the average hourly energy received by the Discos was 3,054.17MWh/month, representing 92.93 per cent.
NBET stated that the total energy received by the Discos during the review month was 2,272,301.29MWh, adding that international customers and other net importers got 232.21MWh/month, which was 7.07 per cent.
It added, “Total energy received by other off-takers was 172,761.21MWh. Total amount invoiced to the Discos for January 2018 cycle was N44.85bn. Total amount received from the Discos for January 2018 cycle was N2.7bn (6.04 per cent).”
A further analysis of the report showed that seven power distributors remitted nothing to the bulk trader despite consuming energy during the review period. The Discos are Benin, Eko, Ibadan, Ikeja, Kaduna, Kano and Port Harcourt.
Among the four Discos that made payments, none remitted up to 30 per cent of their invoices. They are Abuja, 18.6 per cent; Enugu, 29.24 per cent; Jos, 9.09 per cent; and Yola, 15.06 per cent.
Documents obtained from the Market Operator, an arm of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, also showed that the Discos did not make full payments to power sector service providers in January 2018.
The MO stated that the invoice to Discos for service providers’ charges in the month under review was N9,241,048,962.66.
“Amount remitted by Discos to the MO was N3,658,826,509.93; amount remitted to service providers by the MO was N3,658,826,509.93,” the MO stated.
It added, “Shortfall for the month was N5,582,222,452.73; interest accrued on the Discos’ outstanding balance was N2,130,865,298.25.”
The MO urged the power distributors to strive and make full payments to the sector, adding that only compliance would make the industry to work.
It said, “Discos must redouble their efforts towards 100 per cent remittance of service providers’ invoices as they do not benefit from the Federal Government’s guarantee scheme. Only strong enforcement and commitment to compliance will make the power sector to work as expected.”
Analysts at the FBNQuest Capital Research, a research arm of the FBN Holdings, on Friday observed that the insufficient supply of electricity in Nigeria had continued to hinder the country’s economic development.
They said, “Power shortages continue to stifle economic growth. Although power generation capacity from the grid has peaked at 7,000MW, distribution capacity is still 5000MW. The Federal Government currently estimates the national energy demand at 22,230MW.
“We understand that at least 40 per cent of most business operating cost is allocated to self-generation of energy. A survey carried out by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria revealed that N130bn was spent on self-generated energy in 2016.
“Based on our estimates, if ‘full power’ is attained and made routinely available to businesses and households, it could add at least two percentage points to the annual GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth.”
Discos blamed the inability to meet their obligations to the sector on the non-payment of the electricity debts owed by the Federal Government’s ministries, departments and agencies, power theft by customers and the refusal of some consumers to adequate pay their electricity bills.
They, however, stated that power distributors were interfacing with the required agencies in the sector in order to address the challenges confronting the industry from the Discos’ end.
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source http://punchng.com/discos-get-n44-85bn-electricity-invoices-remit-n2-7bn/
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