Over N50million has spent by the Federal Government in subsidising electricity supply in the country, the Minister of Power, Mr. Sale Mamman said.
This was disclosed in a statement delivered by the Special Adviser, Media, and Communications to the Minister, Mr. Aaron Artimas, while receiving delegates of the Guild of Actors and Film Producers, otherwise known as, Kannywood in his office.
Artimas quoted the Minister as stating that the Federal Government subsidizes the costs due to the rising costs of power in Nigeria, citing the subsidies are provided to support the Distribution Companies (DisCos).
“Worried by the incessant complaints by ordinary Nigerians over the unavoidable and periodic increase in the cost of electricity, the Federal Government has been subsidizing electricity supply in the country to the tune of over N50 billion.
“The funds are provided to augment the shortfall by the Distribution Companies (DiSCos) who have failed to defray the cost of bulk electricity supplied to them by the Generating Companies.
“However, following a minor increase in the tariff regime, the subsidy has now decreased by half, but still constitutes a serious drain on the nation’s economy,” Mamman stated.
Mamman expressed serious concern over the failure of DiSCos to stabilize their operations to meet their financial obligations to other players in the sector.
He said it was in response to this unfortunate development that the federal government had been forced to partly subsidise the sector so as not to price the cost of electricity out of the reach of the common man.
The minister explained that as part of the measures to assist ordinary Nigerians over their frustration in receiving adequate electricity supply, the federal government was forced to categorise electricity supply into various bands between highbrow areas and low-income earners.
He said that the categorization of the supply was to enable everyone to cope with the cost of electricity.
The Minister added that the DisCos were privatised before Buhari’s administration came to power. He also stated that the government has no alternative than to continue managing the sector before a final solution is secured.
“Through the Presidential Power Initiative and other intervention measures, the government is diligently working to massively resolve all these inherited problems that have continuously frustrated the success of the sector,” he added.
The report had it that, the World Bank approved $500 million to support Nigeria in improving electricity distribution in the country.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) also announced that only 62.63% of electric customers in Nigeria were under the estimated billing package as of September 2020.
