By Tosin Olatokunbo
The federal government has disclosed that a whopping N600 billion is paid annually to electricity distribution companies as subsidy, despite the bogus electricity bills paid by many consumers.
This was disclosed in Abuja, on Tuesday by the Minister of Power, Sale Mamman who said the subsidy amount to N50 billion monthly.
Many Nigerians have no prepaid meters, as such the distribution firms capitalise on this to charge them bogus bills at the end of the month. The minister said this will soon be over as the government is doing everything to solve the problem.
The minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, disclosed in a statement after the minister had a meeting with the Guild of Actors and Film Producers, also known as, Kannywood in his office.
Mamman said “Worried by the incessant complaints by ordinary Nigerians over the unavoidable and periodic increase in the cost of electricity, the Federal Government has been subsidising 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.”
The minister said the federal government was worried that Discos could price the cost of electricity beyond the reach of many Nigerians, therefore, there was need to wade in by paying subsidy to discos to stabilize their operations.
He said the categorization of power supply in the country was meant to benefit the average Nigerian, noting that the privatization of power was riddled with many anomalies, and “Nigerians must understand that these companies were privatised long before the advent of this administration but the government has no alternative than to continue managing the sector before a final solution is secured.”
He said the government is working hard to find solutions to the problems, adding that the Discos have become almost impossible to manage.
Even though it is the responsibility of the distribution companies to provide meter, the minister said the federal government had to come in at a point, following complaints of outrageous billing from many Nigerians.
Despite faulty equipments, Mamman said electricity generation in the country has moved up to 5,000 megawatts from less than 4,000 megawatts inherited by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.
He said the government will ensure speedy distribution of prepaid meters to consumers to reduce the problems associated with billings.
