- The power sector gulps at least ₦1.3 trillion in interventions
- Experts say, interventions necessary to sustain sectors’ operations
The Nigerian electricity supply industry, according to industry data, gulped at least ₦1.3 trillion in interventions from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Experts have posited that, but for the timely interventions of the apex bank, the power sector would have collapsed completely.
The CBN had provided funding for the sector through the ₦300 billion Power and Aviation Intervention Fund (PAIF), the Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF) totalling ₦213 billion, the Solar Connection Intervention Facility at ₦140 billion. In addition, tariff shortfall interventions gulped over ₦600 billion while the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP) cost at least ₦120 billion. Other interventions included the ₦701 billion Power Assurance Guarantee (PAG) to the generation companies.
The former Chairman, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr Sam Amadi, has stated that these interventions remain critical to the sector’s performance. ”We are not hearing about all the monies from the regulator, and that is worrisome. It is the regulator who should be speaking about funding for the sector because it has the capacity to regulate expenditure and ensure it goes to what is relevant and prudent,” Amadi said.
Amadi also stated his support for the metering interventions while expressing his concerns on its impact on the metering challenges. ”I support the funding for meters, but I doubt if it will solve the problem because the DisCos will use the fund to largely replace bad meters and control revenue loss. But the rebate of unmetered customers will remain high and undermine any movement to cost reflective tariff,” he added.