By Adewale Sanyaolu
Stakeholders in the nation’s power sector have urged strict monitoring of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN’s) N120 billion intervention fund for the 11 electricity distribution companies (Discos) to avoid diversion.
Recall that the Special Adviser to the President on Infrastructure, Ahmad Zakari, had last week said N120 billion capital expenditure (CAPEX) fund is being provided by the CBN for DisCos to improve infrastructure for the tariff classes similar to the ongoing metering programme.
PwC’s Associate Director, Energy, Utilities and Resources, Habeeb Jaiyeola, advised the government to clearly outline and monitor the intervention to ensure it achieved projected objectives.
He said the National Mass Metering Programme might need to be checked against some of its set objectives in terms of coverage, availability and completion time.
“This is an important process for any past and future intervention programme in ensuring set objectives are achieved. An assessment of the impact of intervention funding in the power sector also needs to be looked into. While government intervention continues to be an important sector catalyst, monitoring impact will ensure government scarce resources are appropriately channelled for the benefit of Nigerians,” he expert said.
Former Chairman of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Sam Amadi, said the intervention by the CBN to meter consumers should be supported.
