The Federal Government, on Wednesday, declared that it would consider withdrawing the operating licences of power distribution companies that were intentionally not supplying electricity to consumers leading to widespread blackouts across Nigeria.
It stated that efforts had been made by the Federal Ministry of Power and electricity generating companies, however, some Discos were not distributing the power supplied to them by the Transmission Company of Nigeria, which had resulted in outages since this year.
Since January 2024, electricity supply across the country has been the worst, as many towns and cities nationwide have been thrown into darkness for weeks due to the lack of power supply.
The Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, on Wednesday via his X handle lamented the poor supply of electricity across the country, emphasizing that this was despite efforts by the government in tackling the challenge.
“It is disheartening to witness the decline in power supply despite the concerted efforts to improve the situation. The ministry has been exerting pressure on the generating companies to enhance their performance, resulting in a recent increase in generation to over 4,000MW.
“Despite this progress, certain distribution companies are failing to adequately distribute the power supplied by TCN, while vandalism of power infrastructure exacerbates the problem in regions such as Abuja, Benin, Port Harcourt, and Ibadan.
“Moving forward, I am committed to holding all distribution companies accountable for their performance. Willful non-performance will not be tolerated, and severe consequences, including licence revocation, may be imposed.
“Additionally, I have instructed TCN to prioritise repair works on damaged transmission towers and power lines to improve supply in affected regions.” He said.
Minister Adelabu stressed that he had summoned some power distributors and the TCN over the poor power supply situation in Nigeria.
“Findings revealed that some distribution companies were deliberately not taking up power supply from TCN while some power lines were also damaged by vandals in Abuja, Benin, Port Harcourt and Ibadan regions.”
“Plans are underway to settle outstanding debts owed to power generation and gas supply companies, which will alleviate the financial strain and contribute to improved generation levels nationwide.
“I urge electricity consumers to remain patient as we work tirelessly to address these issues and provide better service to all Nigerians.” He added.
Meanwhile, Nigeria has 11 power distribution companies which includes; Abuja, Benin, Eko, Enugu, Ibadan, Ikeja, Jos, Kaduna, Kano, Port Harcourt and Yola Discos.
Chinedum Anayo