Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin-Kebbi
Governor Abubakar Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State has said consumers of electricity in the state need to pay N900 million monthly to the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KAEDCO) to continue enjoying 24 hours power supply.
Bagudu, who made the disclosure during a media chat with newsmen and management of Transmission Company fo Nigeria (TCN and KAEDCO, yesterday, at the Government House, noted that in February 2019, out of N900 million revenue allocated to Kebbi State, which used to be N300 million, the Kaduna Disco was able to collect N250 million from customers, leaving a balance of N650 million deficit.
Bagudu noted that in order to help the companies, the state government always pay electricity bills of hospitals, schools and courts, saying that “the state has other challenges such as schools feeding to take care of”.
The governor, power transmission and distribution companies were reacting to the recent causes of power outage in the state.
Governor Bagudu said: “The problem now is that the power supply has improved significantly in other states. The TCN station is very hot because Kaduna Disco did not buy power in stock at the station. The monthly bill used to be N300 million, but, today, the company is distributing power worth N900 monthly.”
The governor, who noted that the main challenge was either the Kaduna Disco should buy more power from TCN and continue running at loss or consumers who were not paying should be disconnected, stressed that the company would start distribution of more metres to minimise deficit.
“The TCN has transmitted more power to Kaduna Disco, Birnin-Kebbi and what remains is for the Kaduna Disco to buy and distribute to customers.”
Governor Bagudu also said the recently commissioned Yauri station has not improved its revenue despite the fact that the state government usually pay between N100 million to N180 million, monthly, in advance, to build up the lapses.
The governor, who appealed to consumers to be paying their bills promptly, added that they should realise that despite the efforts of the state government to ensure continued 24 hours electricity in the state, the TCN and Kaduna Disco were not government companies, and the government doesn’t have enough money to pay the deficiency in the expected revenue from the state.
Earlier, Commissioner for Water Resources and Electricity, Alhaji Nura Kangiwa, said the state had spent N4 billion on repairing faulty transformers and connection of villages to the national grid, while 400 transformers were distributed.
Responding to questions, representative of Kaduna Disco, Mr. Halilu Bashar, apologised to the people of Kebbi State over the electricity shortage in the state recently, and promised to work with relevant stakeholders to improve their services.