The Minister of Power, Bayo Adelabu, attributed the underperformance of power plants in Nigeria to outstanding debts and insufficient gas supply.
During his visit to the Olorunsogo Power Plant in Papalanto, Ogun State, and the Omotosho Power Plant in Ondo State, the Minister clarified that these government-owned facilities are overseen by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company.
He stated that the purpose of his nationwide tour was to assess the physical and operational condition of Federal Government power installations.
He added, “l am amazed at the level of under-utilisation of these power installations,” while saying that he was impressed with the size and the technology of the Olorunsogo and Omotosho power plants.”
He stated that each of the power plants operates below 25 per cent capacity, at a time the nation is still complaining about low power generation.
He alleged that the under-capacity utilisation is due to a variety of reasons, as the major part of it is the shortage in gas supply to these installations, pointing out that his inspection is to find out how to improve their operational capacities.
Adelabu lamented that huge debts were being owed the generation companies as a result of electricity subsidy, suggesting the migration to what he called cost-reflective tariffs.
He appealed to the Federal Government that once there is a subsidy promise, it has to be fully funded, saying that if the government is not ready to fund subsidies, it is better to migrate to a fully cost-reflective tariff as the liquidity is a major issue in the sector leading to huge debts being owed power generating companies.
When the gas suppliers are not paid, he explained that they would be unwilling to supply regular gas to them.
“So why are these debts piling up? Part of the debts are owed by the DisCos. The Federal Government is also owing a huge portion of these debts, which relates to the unfunded portion of the subsidy,” Adelabu stated.
He promised that efforts were on top gear to make power available to Nigerians, especially through reliable energy sources.
