Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo
By Chineme Okafor
Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, Monday confirmed a sharp drop in nationwide electricity supply which has led to longer blackout period in homes and offices.
He, however, warned that the federal government would not tolerate flimsy excuses for the deterioration in services.
The minister also said government could not continue to fund the capital expenditures of the five generation and 11 distribution companies of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) given the phase of reform in the sector.
But he added that the non-funding of the capital expenditures of the PHCN companies should not lead to a drop in efficiency in the sector.
Nebo, responding to THISDAY exclusive report, published Monday on worsening electricity supply due to various reasons, including paucity of funds for the PHCN companies, explained that such claims of paucity of funds by the generation and distribution companies would not be tolerated as excuses for deterioration in services.
He confirmed the THISDAY report of a sharp drop in power supply in some parts of the country, but denied that he lacked a hands-on approach to address the challenges in the sector.
The minister also said he had not solely relied on records of events provided by managers of the various assets who might have provided deceptive information to him but initiated proactive measures to sustain power generation and supply.
"It is not true; I couldn't have trusted just anybody to provide me with accurate statistics of events in the sector, knowing so well of the kind of sector that I am managing.
“The figures (generation figures) that I had given out were actual figures that were generated digitally; yes, there are drops in some parts of the country," Nebo said in a telephone interview Monday.
He further said: "The problem is not lack of a hands-on approach because I am always on their back and have often resorted to threats but you must also understand that we have to objectively manage situations to achieve balance.
“These companies had in the last two years received huge capital budgets from the government, they were heavily funded in the past two years but now nothing is going to them from the government but that is not an excuse for underperformance because government cannot just fund their capital requests. I can't squeeze water out of the rock for them."
The minister explained that the industry currently operates a cost-reflective tariff with maintenance components and as such claims that the companies were been starved of funds were unfounded.
Also, Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi, said the House of Representatives Committee on Power would Tuesday commence a public hearing on the funding gaps experienced by successive PHCN companies.
Amadi said the government could not just provide funds for capital expenditures to the companies without a convincing assessment of such needs.
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