OpeOluwani Akintayo
29 August 2018, Sweetcrude, Lagos — Nigeria’s power sector recorded a liquidity shortfall of N103 billion in the third quarter of 2017.
Newly-released third quarter report of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, said the N103 billion shortfall was caused by low remittances by electricity distribution companies or Discos to the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader, NBET and the Market Operator, MO.
According to the quarterly report released on Tuesday, an invoice totaling ₦147 billion for energy received from NBET and for the service charge by the MO was issued to the Discos but only ₦44 billion was settled, creating a shortfall of ₦103 billion.
To address the liquidity challenge in the electricity industry, with particular emphasis on the poor remittance by Discos, NERC said it is currently working on a framework to ensure a fair and equitable distribution of market revenues.
“The framework aims at ensuring transparency and fairness in the utilisation of market funds”, the report said.
