Power sector debt hits N2.7trn as DISCOS remit 52% of invoice

THE financial crisis facing the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) deepened last weekend following the takeover of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IBEDC) by Asset Management Corporation (AMCON), with the latest data showing that the 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) remitted just 52 percent of the invoice sent to them by the bulk trader.

Data from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) showed that the sector’s revenue shortfall has risen to N2.7 trillion, accumulated over a six-year period (2015-2021).

The numbers from NERC’s industry report showed that while the DisCos received N612.26 billion invoice from the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, they were only able to remit N324.46 billion in the first nine months of last year leaving a debt of N287.81 billion.

However, IBEDC which was taken over by AMCON for failing to repay its debt, owed the market N40.76 billion after remitting N40.02 billion (49.5 percent) of the N80.78 billion invoice sent to it by NBET.

Further analysis of the data also showed that Kaduna Electric owed the market N35.76 billion after remitting N11.84 billion (24.8 percent) of N47.61 billion of NBET’s invoice.

Benin DisCo was another big debtor as it owed the market N28.75 billion after remitting N25.91 billion (47.4 percent) of the N54.65 billion invoice. Also, Abuja DisCo remitted N48.48 billion (63.89 percent) of the N75.87 billion invoice leaving a debt of N27.4 billion.

Eko DisCo and Ikeja Electric remitted N44.32 billion (63.5 percent) and N66.29 billion (72.1 percent) of the N69.72 billion and N92 billion invoices from NBET leaving debts of N25.4 billion and N25.71 billion respectively.

Enugu DisCo accumulated a debt of N23.98 billion after remitting N32.35 billion (57.4 percent ) of N56.33 billion invoice from NBET while Port Harcourt DisCo also racked up N21.46 billion debt after remitting N19.61 billion (47.7 percent) of N41.07 billion.

Jos DisCo accumulated a shortfall of N21.26 billion in the nine-month period after remitting just N9.62 billion (31.2 percent) of N30.88 billion invoice from NBET while Kano DisCo remitted N24.01 billion (55.3 percent) of N43.4 billion invoice.

Yola DisCo was the worst performer after remitting just 10.1 percent (N2.01 billion) of the total N19.95 billion invoice received from NBET