DisCos make nearly N259b but less than N453.31b invoiced
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Power consumers paid N258.91 billion in the first seven months of the year to July (7M 2022), which was N194.4 billion less than N453.31 billion invoiced by Distribution Companies (DisCos) even with increasing erratic supply.
The latest report from the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) shows the revenue was 24.91 per cent short of the Minimum Remittance Order (MRO) set for DisCos by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The 11 DisCos in January remitted N38.87 billion, February (N40.08 billion), March (N31.27 billion), April (N38.78 billion), May (N30.09 billion), June (N33.48 billion), and July (N46.34 billion).
NERC on 1 July activated a partial Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with generation companies (GenCos) for the supply of 5,505 megawatts (mw) of electricity for peak generation and 4,893 mw for base load.
The PPA guarantees payment for gas supplied to GenCos by gas firms and ensures GenCos are paid for power supplied to the national grid.
All the 25 power GenCos on the grid now have an agreement in place to generate a certain amount of power and get paid for it.
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Power bill triples
Electricity Consumers Association of Nigeria (ECAN) National President Chijoke James said although power supply has improved since 1 July bills have more than tripled.
“The bills from the DisCos have tripled especially for consumers on the estimated billing system. It is important that the government should compel DisCos to provide meters to consumers,” he stressed, per Vanguard reporting.
“The policy that the consumers have to pay for meters is wrong because the meter ought to be free. It is the responsibility of the DisCos to private meters for their business.
“The government must end the estimated billing method because consumers are paying for electricity they have not consumed.”
