Electricity Distribution plant Photo: NAECNG
The electricity distribution companies (Discos) in Nigeria has denied claims by the federal government that there is improvement in power generation in the country.
The 11 Discos stressed that generation capacity as at January 2015 was 6,421 megawatts (MW) and not 4,000MW as often claimed by the government.
Speaking through the Executive Director, Research and Advocacy of their umbrella association, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Sunday Oduntan, the Discos explained that the government has largely created more confusion in the operations of the country’s electricity sector, than it had helped it.
Oduntan also took a swipe at the federal government for asking them to either upgrade their efficiency levels in the market or quit the stage, saying that such orders would not stop the imminent collapse of the electricity sector.
Reacting to the government’s claims that power generation had peaked to 7,000MW since President Muhammadu Buhari came into office in May 2015, Oduntan explained that as at January 2015, Nigeria already had close to that generation figure.
He also described as false, the government’s repeated claim that an excess generation of 2,000MW was idle.