Discos demand payment of N504bn debt owed by consumers

Power generation companies have put the outstanding debt being owed them at N504bn and demanded that it be paid for them to continue generating electricity.This is coming as power distribution companies have also called for the implementation of a cost-reflective electricity tariff for end users as captured in the last tariff review carried out by the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The Discos often argue that a cost-reflective tariff will be about N68 per kilowatt-hour, as against the N25/KWh that the largest percentage of electricity consumers across the country currently pay.

The demands of the power firms were contained in a communique issued at the end of the second quarter market participants/key stakeholders’ interactive forum, which was organised by the Market Operator in Abuja. The MO is an arm of the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

The communique, which was made available to journalists in Abuja on Monday and signed by the representatives of the generation and distribution firms, and the TCN, read in part, “Gencos called for the centralisation of market collection and appropriate disbursement based on the agreed percentages.”