15 September 2016, Lagos – The Chief Executive Officer of Egbin Power Plc, Mr Dallas Peavey, has said the company is highly constrained by more than N86 billion debt owed it by the Federal Government.
Peavey made the appeal in Lagos on Saturday during the company’s scholarship award programme to schools within Ijede community in Lagos State.
He said the debt is disrupting its operations.
He also said gas supply had been a major challenge to power generation .
He said, “We have a total generation output of 1,320MW but currently we are generating just 425MW which is 30 per cent of what we should be generating.”
He said the company was considering other sources of power generation that would complement gas, such as Low Pour Fuel Oil, one of the products in the fractional distillation of crude oil.
According to him, right now the major challenge confronting the plant is gas and the company does not know what the future has for the power station.
He said, “Another big problem is that of over N86 billion being owed by Federal Government on energy produced to the national grid in the last six months.
“We only got 16 per cent of the total bills out of the total money on energy generated to the national grid.
“The amount is the money owed by government through the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading to produce power to the grid by generating companies.”
According to Peavey, generating companies are highly constrained by the debt burden because it is frustrating power development plans.
He said, “We are highly constrained by the lack of payment for services rendered.
“No matter how much broad-minded you are and no matter the desire to serve your nation, if services are not paid for, the momentum to continue to serve will not be sustained.
“Industry operators are in dire need of funds as most of the monies used in acquiring the power assets and other post-privatisation investments came from the banks.
“But banks do not want to hear about any delays or the reasons for such delays. When the amount of the debt payment is due, they simply call for their money.”
Peavey said that the company had spent N 760 million in the last three years on Corporate Social Responsibility to communities within its area of operation.
- Punch
