Kaduna DisCo disconnects Sokoto, Zamfara Gov’t facilities, MDAs over N2.5bn electricity debts
Oredola Adeola
Power supply to all Ministries, Department, and Agencies(MDAs) and other facilities belonging to Sokoto and Zamfara State Governments, has been disconnected by the management of Kaduna Electric, three weeks after the two states were issued “Demand and Final Disconnection Notices” by the DisCo in respect of an outstanding electricity debts of N1,496,313,156 and N1,040,506,730 respectively, as of December 2022.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by Abdulazeez Abdullahi, Head, Corporate Communication of the company, and obtained by EnergyDay on Saturday.
According to Kaduna DisCo, the Demand as well as Final Disconnection Notice was enforced on the two States, leading to disconnection, which was the last resort for us. The company said that it was painful for it to have embarked on that course of action.
Abdullahi said, “Sokoto State Government is owing outstanding electricity bills of N1,496,313,156 with Zamfara owing N1,040,506,730 as of December 2022.
He noted that the development is not only hindering the operations of the company but is also making it extremely difficult for the Company to discharge its obligations to the electricity market as well as make the needed investment to improve service delivery.
The Kaduna Electric’s Corporate Communication Officer said, “It is rather sad to note that Zamfara State Government has not made any payment for its electricity bills for the past 12 months.
“Its counterpart, the Sokoto State government has defaulted in the last four months”; notwithstanding their accumulated outstanding bills prior to these periods.
The statement further disclosed that Kaduna Electric took the decision to issue the Demand and Final Disconnection Notices to the two State Governments when the repeated discussions, reminders, and promises by senior officials of the two States were never fulfilled.
Abdullahi said, “We are obligated to make 100 percent remittance for the cost of energy consumed in our franchise as well as transmission services and failure always attracts severe penalties.
“This is an obligation we are struggling to meet every month to no avail due to poor non or irregular payment of bills by our customers,” he said.
Kaduna Electric however confirmed its readiness to restore power supply to the facilities of all its customers upon appropriate actions regarding the settlement of outstanding debts and a firm commitment to the payment of current electricity bills going forward.
