The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has expressed disappointment with the performance of the country’s electricity distribution companies (DisCos), saying the ministry will get tough on them.
Adelabu made the remark during a two-day retreat organised by the Senate Committee on Power, as revealed in a statement by his Special Adviser, Bolaji Tunji.
According to the minister, getting tough on DisCos is necessary as they could frustrate the ministry’s gains.
“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,” he stated.
Adelabu further disclosed that DisCos were required to have technical partners during the 2023 sector restructuring.
He said many partnerships with foreign companies dissolved within three months of their takeover.
“Instead of investing in infrastructure, many used bank loans for asset acquisition and redirected funds to repay those loans.
“In the fourth quarter of 2024, DisCos in the North remitted just N124.4 billion (30 per cent) of their N408.86 billion invoice, with Abuja DisCo accounting for 85 per cent of Northern payments. Southern DisCos fared slightly better, remitting N254.6 billion (67 per cent), though 70 per cent of this came from Lagos DisCos alone,” he said.