Blackout on Its Way to Aso Rock as AEDC Blows Hot Over N47.1 Billion Debt
- Posted on February 20, 2024
- Featured
- By PETER AGADA
The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) recently announced that it will disconnect the electricity supply to the Presidential Villa, including 86 other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of government over N47.1 billion debt. However, the power holding company has given the listed bodies ten days moratorium to comply by paying the debt of face blackout from February 28.
On the list of the debtors include: the Chief of Defence Staff- Barracks and military formations owing over N12 billion; Ministry of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) (N7.5 billion); Ministry of Finance (N5.4 billion) and the Niger State Liaison Office, Abuja (N3.4 billion).
Others include the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Ministry of Education, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Ministries of Finance, Information, Budget, Works, Housing, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC); Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and state liaison offices in the FCT.
The notice reads,
The Abuja Electricity Distribution PLC is constrained to do this publication with the details of Government, Ministries, Departments and Agencies with long outstanding unpaid bills for services rendered to them through the provision of electricity supply in that our previous attempts to make them honour their obligations have not achieved the desired results.
The relevant MDAs are, at this moment, given notice that the AEDC shall, after the expiration of 10 days from the date of this publication, that is, after Wednesday, February 28, 2024, embark on the disconnection of our services to them until they discharge their obligations to us by paying their debts.
In the past years, Nigeria's power generation sector has suffered a debt burden following hitches from its customers. The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has warned electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to improve or risk having their license withdrawn from them.
A few weeks back, the Bureau of Public Enterp (BPE) announced that it was planning to sell off the remaining 40% shares of the Federal Government in the DisCos in 2024 while the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) had constantly revoked DisCos' operational licenses due to debts running into billions of naira.
However, according to the NERC report, the total revenue collected by all DisCos in the third quarter of 2023 was N267.61 billion out of N349.55 billion billed to customers.
In the past, the Federal Government, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), and some banks took over some discos due to alleged poor performance and liquidity crisis.
Back Story
The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) recently announced that it would implement stricter sanctions against 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) over their non-compliance with the capping of estimated bills for unmetered customers.
This was announced by Adamu Abdullahi, the executive vice chairman and chief executive officer of FCCPC, who supported the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission's (NERC) recent actions against the DisCos.
Abdullahi says that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission commends the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for its recent action against 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) for non-compliance with the capping of estimated bills for unmetered customers.
Be the first to comment!
You must login to comment