DISCOs Hail Privatisation As Revenues Soar

BPE Monitors Compliance With Regulations
THE reforms, which culminated in the privatisation of the generation and distribution segment of the country’s power sector, may be yielding results, as many distribution companies are said to have reduced Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collection (ATC&C) losses since taking over from the defunct Power Holding of Nigeria (PHCN).

This was the observation of the Monitoring team from the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), which examined compliance level with commitments by the DISCOs at the inception of the exercise.

The companies said that revenue collection has improved, as they are now raking over a billion of naira from each of their distribution units.

Ikeja Distribution Company told BPE team in Lagos recently that revenue collection has improved by100 per cent due to the deployment of smart pre-paid meters, just as it has succeeded in reducing ATC&C losses, which was about 35.182 at the time it took over from PHCN about three years ago.

Specifically, the Disco said a revenue of about N1.211b is being collected monthly by its Oshodi business unit, contrary to the N602m it collected when it took over from PHCN.

Revenue collection also increased from N400,000 of pre-privatisation period to N1.1b monthly, at its Ikeja unit, out of which Guiness alone contributed N26.27 million.

The DISCO said Cadbury, which since its inception in 1975 had never depended on power from National grid, is now discussing with it for power supply, at least for 20 hours daily.

According to IKEDC’s financial controller, Mr. Aigbe Olotu, who briefed BPE monitoring team in Ikeja recently, the improved revenue and customers services recorded so far was as a result of facility upgrade and deployment of modern technology to check energy theft and capacity upgrade of workforce.

He identified some of the challenges confronting the company as inadequate power supply for distribution to its customers that are willing to pay for energy delivered.

Confirming the claims of improved revenue collection by the DISCO, the manager, Ikeja Business Unit, Mr. Christopher Lawal said one of the benefits of privatisation is the eradication of leakages, adding that the district now generates over N1b monthly, against the N400m collection of pre-privatisation period.

He said two multi-national companies in the area – Cadbury and Cocacola—have been generating their power, since their inception, adding that with the privatisation, plans have reached advanced stage to hook them back on the IE’s power network.

Lawal said the Unit has 28 injection stations and supplies its customers with 80-100 megawatts of electricity, although the required demand is 376 megawatts. ‘‘We plan to up the current supply to 250 megawatts,” he added.

According to him, over 1,200 meters have been installed within the district, adding that Guinness/Harp is its highest paid customer, as it rakes in between N26 – N27m monthly from the company.

Business Manager of Oshodi Business Unit, Mr. Sunday Oyewale, said the Unit collects N1.211b monthly, compared to N602m in the pre-privatisation period.

He said because of the improvement in services, 134,000 customers were now on its network, compared to 128,000 in the pre-privatisation period. The Manager expressed optimism that the figure will soar after smart meters installation programme.