Adelabu
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Power minister carpets Discos, says performance dismal, disappointing, frustrating Adelabu
Adebayo Adelabu, the Minister of Power, has slammed slammed the electricity distribution companies in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry, NESI, describing their performance as poor, disappointing and frustrating the federal government’s efforts in the sector.
Speaking at a two-day retreat organised by the Senate Committee on Power, Adelabu in a statement by Bolaji Tunji,
his Special Adviser, Strategic Communication and Media Relations to the Minister, bemoaned the protracted crisis, which has continued to cripple service delivery nationwide despite landmark reforms in the electricity sector.
The minister pointed out obvious gaps in the performance of the distribution companies, as well as aging networks, rampant electricity theft, and poor investment deepening reliance on unsustainable subsidies and leaving millions in darkness.
“We need to get tough with the DisCos, as they can easily frustrate all the gains we have made. They have disappointed us in performance expectations. Whatever we do in generation does not mean anything to consumers if it is frustrated at the distribution points,” the minister said.
He observed that according to the 2003 restructuring of the power sector, the DisCos were expected to have technical partners, adding that some of them fraudulently presented short-lived spurious partnership with foreign companies, which lasted for about three months, after taking over those companies.
“So we need utility companies that can invest in the sector to improve infrastructure, improve service,” he said, adding that, “a lot of them went to the banks to take loans to buy the assets after taking over. Instead of providing infrastructure they are taking out the money to pay the loans,” Adelabu added.
He pointed out that tariff adjustments had boosted market liquidity by 70 percent—raising sector revenue from ₦1 trillion in 2023 to ₦1.7 trillion in 2024 but lamented that the distribution segment remains the weakest link.
“In the fourth quarter of 2024, DisCos in the North remitted just ₦124.4 billion (30 percent) of their ₦408.86 billion invoice, with Abuja DisCo accounting for 85 percent of Northern payments. Southern DisCos fared slightly better, remitting ₦254.6 billion (67 percent), though 70 percent of this came from Lagos DisCos alone. These discrepancies are due largely to crumbling infrastructure outside economic hubs, where underinvestment has left networks dilapidated,” he said.
He explained that the metering gap, a key driver of revenue loss and consumer distrust, underscores systemic neglect, adding that the government has launched a ₦700 billion Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI) and a World Bank-backed programme targeting 4.3 million meters by 2025, 75,000 units were deployed in April 2024 while additional 200, 000 is expected in May.
“Closing this gap is fundamental to fair billing and financial sustainability,” the minister acknowledged, “but we are not there yet due to underinvestment and operational inefficiencies.”
According to him the sector also faces a ₦4 trillion subsidy backlog owed to generation companies, including ₦1.94 trillion for 2024 alone.
He noted that the 70 percent remittance by the two DisCos in Lagos reflects better infrastructure than what obtains in the northern networks.
The minister urged the National Assembly to enact stricter legislation for safeguarding Nigeria’s power infrastructure from acts of vandalism, emphasising the need for robust laws to forestall the destruction of vital assets of the power sector and ensuring the stability of the nation’s electricity supply.
