The federal government says it is going to order the resale of electricity distribution companies (discos) now under the management of banks and the asset management company (AMCON) within three months, starting July 2024, to reputable power operators.
The minister of power, Adebayo Adelabu, made the disclosure to members of the senate committee on power during an oversight visit to the ministry in Abuja. Adelabu explained that the energy distribution assets are technical in nature and, as such, they should be under the management of technical experts.
He informed the committee that tough decisions on the discos had become necessary because the entire Nigerian electricity supply industry (NESI) fails when they do not perform.
According to him, the ministry will prevail on the Nigerian electricity regulatory commission (NERC) to revoke underperforming licenses and also change the management board of the discos if it becomes necessary.
There are five discos currently under the management of AMCON and bank lenders; Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO), Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC), Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), Kaduna Electric, and Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED).
Adelabu said “very soon you will see that tough decisions will be taken on the DisCos. They are the last lap of the sector. If they don’t perform, the entire sector is not performing.
“The entire ministry is not performing. We have put pressure on NERC, which is their regulator to make sure they raise the bar on regulation activities. If they have to withdraw licenses for non-performance, why not? If they have to change the board of management, why not?
“And all the DisCos that are still under AMCON and Banks, within the next three months, they must be sold to technical power operators with good reputations in utility management.
“We can no longer afford AMCON to run our DisCos. We can no longer afford the banks to run our DisCos. This is a technical industry and it must be run by technical experts.”