OpeOluwani Akintayo
11 July 2018, Sweetcrude, Lagos — The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has directed the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, to immediately step in to ensure that Electricity Distribution Companies or Discos improve on their distribution equipment and increase capacity to enable them optimise the use of electrical resources by the Generation Companies or Gencos.
The minister instructed NERC to enforce the contract of Discos to supply meters and act to ensure the urgent speedy supply and installation of meters with a view to eliminating estimated billing and promote efficient industry and market structures.
Fashola, who said the improvement in their distribution equipment and increase in capacity would enable the Discos take up the available 2,000MW difference between the generation capacity of the Gencos and the distribution capacity of the Discos, also directed the regulatory commission to stop Discos from threatening private entrepreneurs from entering the market to supply consumers whom they are unable to supply.
Instead, according the minister, such entrepreneurs should be licensed by the commission subject to its terms and conditions “in order to promote competition and private sector participation and avoid a private monopoly of power”.
