The Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) is reportedly owing Generation Companies (GenCos) a total of N143.82 billion in the third quarter of 2020, for the electricity produced and fed into the national grid.
Of the total invoice of N193.26 billion NBET received from GenCos in the three-month period, it only paid N49.44 billion, representing 25.58% of the invoice.
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- The N193.26 billion invoice comprises of a total invoice of N64.13 billion in July, N67.83 billion in August and N61.30 billion in September.
- The N49.44 billion payment made to the GenCos by the bulk trader in July was N12.22 billion, representing 19.05%; N13.49 billion in August, representing 19.90%; and N23.73 billion in September, representing 38.72%.
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Further checks indicate that remittances by electricity distribution companies (DisCos) partly contributed to NBET’s debt.
In this context, DisCos remitted only N50.68 billion to NBET in the third quarter of 2020, out of a total invoice of N189.05 billion received from NBET.
- The DisCos received a total invoice of N66.33 billion in July; N63.62 billion in August; and N59.10 billion in September.
- But the DisCos only paid NBET N12.91 billion in July; N14.89 billion in August, and N22.88 billion in September.
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What to expect
It is clear from the above that NBET partly relies on payments by DisCos to settle GenCos. Thus, all things being equal, NBET may continue to owe GenCos in the future, considering that DisCos are not really efficient in collecting electricity tariffs due from customers.
In this regard, Nairametrics reported on 8th December that DisCos recorded loss of N58billion in unpaid electricity dues in Q2 2020 – indicating a collection efficiency of only 64.4%.
Nairametrics also reported in January that NBET owed GenCos in the country about N1 trillion. This appear to further uphold claims that the current arrangement between GenCos, NBET and DisCos is not really sustainable; and may require revision.
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What you should know
- Data obtained from the Nigerian Electricity System Operator revealed that the total power generation stood at 4,631.60 megawatts as of 6am on Thursday.
- The nation generates most of its electricity from gas-fired power plants, while output from hydropower plants makes up about 30 per cent of the total generation.
- The amount of available generation capability left unused on Thursday stood at 1,591.1MW as a result of gas constraints, according to the system operator.
- The system operator put the nation’s installed generation capacity at 12,954.40MW, available capacity at 7,652.60MW, transmission wheeling capacity at 7,300MW and the peak generation ever attained at 5520.4MW.
READ: Buhari moves against DISCOs that collect money for prepaid meters
Maybe the failure of the Discos to collect tariffs efficiently have led some of them to resort to ripping off compliant customers. The electricity distribution company covering Enugu state- EEDC has not only increased prepaid tariffs by 100% for households, but have also illegally increased the meter reading rate by 200% for some homes. While my regular daily consumption has been a steady 4 to 5kwhr for more than a year now, over the past 3 weeks, my daily consumption has mysteriously shot up to over 15kwhr, without any marked increase in electricity supply. The highest energy consumer I have is a medium sized fridge which I turn on for less than 12hours daily for the past 2years. I even stopped using electric jug since the implementation of the new tariff. And yet my daily consumption has trippped, with some of my neighbors also having a similar experience. In my opinion, the entire electricity distribution system operated in this country is fundamentally flawed with so much loopholes for exploiting law abiding tariffs paying customers. Such anomalies may only serve to discourage more people from opting for prepaid meters while encouraging the unscrupulous to bypass these meters thereby reducing collections by the Discos even more.