On-president-buhari’s-admittance-that-this-administration-has-not-done-enough-in-addressing-the-nation’s-power-supply-problem-the-need-for-the-federal-government-to-back-words-with-action-by-revoking-the-operating-license-of-underperforming-discos

PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI


FUNKE OSIBODU, MANAGING DIRECTOR (MD) OF BEDC
 
ON PRESIDENT BUHARI’S ADMITTANCE THAT THIS ADMINISTRATION HAS NOT DONE ENOUGH IN ADDRESSING THE NATION’S POWER SUPPLY PROBLEM – THE NEED FOR THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO BACK WORDS WITH ACTION BY REVOKING THE OPERATING LICENSE OF UNDERPERFORMING DISCOS
We appreciate the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari recently summoned the courage and publicly admitted to Nigerians that the performance of his administration in the nation’s power sector was “not good enough”, saying that this called for more efforts by Electricity Distribution Companies to provide the needed resources and technical expertise, and also stated that the Federal Government would play its own part by improving the transmission of electricity.
While this is the truth and nothing but the truth, we also believe that there is also need for the President Buhari-led Federal Government to back his words with concrete decisive actions by revoking the operating license of gross underperforming power Distribution Companies (DISCOs) like the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC). We, and many well-meaning and concerned stakeholders have cried out on countless occasions requesting that the Federal Government should revoke the operating license of the BEDC in particular, on account of their evident gross incompetence and poor delivery of power distribution in all the States they are meant to cover, especially in Delta State. But we wonder why it is taking the Federal Government too long to do this? Even the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is nothing but a toothless agency with no power to sanction underperforming DISCOs like BEDC. All they do is to sit and wait for petitions from consumers, and when such petitions get to them, they reply with the same content language always.
We have come to realize that one of the major problems with the Discos, especially BEDC, is their “poor technical depth” and expertise, in relation to the MOU they signed with the Government when they took over the nation's power distribution assets. They lacked the technical know how in relation to the service they are supposed to render to the Nigerian public. Most of them, particularly the BEDC, rushed in to acquire operating licence in order just to enrich themselves. And the government on their part, did not do thorough and proper “due diligence” check on them, before issuing them the operational licenses. 
It is likely that most of the “real owners” of these DISCOs, are in Government. Hence, the Government is finding it difficult to “bite” them as they ought to, and revoke their operational license. Our model of politics is so “dirty”, expensive and mumbled up that it has practically affected every sector, not only that of power. And until the masses decide to start tasking their political leaders from ward level to account diligently for their stewardship, the country will not grow or move forward. Imagine a man that emerges as a Lawmaker, who initially could not afford the payment of rent for a 4 bedroom apartment for instance, suddenly becomes a billionaire just after 4 years as a Lawmaker, and now owns mansions across the country. And yet we talk of “national growth”. How can we grow? The individuals holding robust political appointments grow at the expense of the nation and poor masses. 
The country’s power distribution infrastructure is in a total mess, that it will only take a Government with the WILL and determination to address it head-on.  While we are aware that Power Generation and Transmission in the country still needs to be improved upon, however, it is imperative to note that the Power Distribution aspect is where the major problems are. And the Power Distribution Companies (DISCOs) are not helping matters at with their gross incompetence to address the many issues in that sector of power supply.
Asking the BEDC, for instance, to improve on their performance in power distribution to the States under their coverage, is like flogging a dead horse and hoping it will come alive. It is without a doubt that the BEDC has demonstrated not to have the capacity, wherewithal and capability to adequately distribute power supply to its consumers in the various States under them, especially in Warri and environs of Delta State. They have failed woefully in this regard since they came on board. And as such, the only option left for the Federal Government and relevant authorities in the Ministry of Power is to either revoke their operational. Vigeo Power Limited as the owner of Benin Electricity Distribution Company, which has Mrs. Funke Osibodu, a former Managing Director of Union bank Plc, as the Chief Executive Officer. BEDC, with an area of wide geographical spread, spanning four states – Edo, Delta, Ondo and Ekiti, has 16 business districts in all.
We are not the only ones that have registered our complaints in this regard. There are many public complaints from Nigerians within these States under the BEDC, about their gross incompetence and poor services delivery in the distribution of power supply. For BEDC, their style of power distribution is ‘selective’. We do not know about other States, but that is the situation in Delta State, especially the commercial city of Warri and environs where we now have a normalized “selective power distribution.” Here, the only way to have regular un-interrupted power supply is to get your home or business connected to a 33Kv lines, which the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), will be very happy and willing to connect once you can afford it. In other words, it is the rich and mighty that can afford to have steady and reliable power supply in Delta State, while the rest of the populace are left to manage whatever that is distributed as the supposed normal power supply, which is very unreliable. This has made countless homes and businesses to remain in darkness in most days of the week, sometimes for months in some areas. Not to mention the BEDC’s normalized style of ‘power rationing’ in the distribution of electricity in most areas of Warri and environs. The only other way to have power is to own a generator, and as we know, not every person can afford to own and regularly fuel/service generators for their homes and businesses. This has left many in darkness almost every day. 
It is also appalling that, with BEDC, they expect their consumers to be the ones to buy Transformers, electric poles and other power distribution connection materials for them, before they will connect power to their consumers. And this is because you cannot see Transformers, Feeder-pillars, wooden/concrete electrical poles, and other power distribution maintenance materials, in their Office premises. So, even if there is a major improvement in the nation’s power generation output, the BEDC cannot distribute power to consumers because they obviously lack the technical and financial capacity to do so. The BEDC want their consumers to provide them with what they need to connect/address power supply issues, after which they still send bills to their consumers, or sell the recharge for consumers with prepaid card metres. They also do not provide prepaid metres to their consumers unless they are bribed.
We can go on and on to elaborate all the atrocities daily committed by BEDC in their supposed distribution of power. But to put it bluntly, the BEDC are nothing but “collectors of revenue” who are obviously not competent to distribute power to their consumers’. As such, they, and other underperforming DISCOs should be asked to go. It is not enough for President Buhari to come out and say they have not done enough as a government to address the power supply problems in the country. He needs to take drastic steps if his administration is serious in addressing this power supply problem.
The Federal Government needs to address the challenges of sagged Transformers that are running load shedding on daily basis. They need to clear the mess of dangerously hanging surface electricity wires all over the place. the Distribution of power supply is the real and major problem right now in the country. Even if the Federal Government should fix the power generation and transmission problems today, Nigerians will not enjoy steady power supply because of the issues in distribution. Even the little power being generated today is not enjoyed by Nigerians as they ought to, rather, we even distribute power to neighboring African countries. That means our power distribution sector is really in a mess. For instance, how many new transformers can the BEDC say they have in their offices, which can be used at any time to replace obsolete/faulty transformers that were mounted by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN)/Nigeria Electricity Power Authority (NEPA)/Electricity Corporation of Nigeria (ECN)? Any new transformer you see today in Warri Areas, were bought by the consumers themselves and not the BEDC.
We have reiterated times without number that no community, state or nation across the globe that have attained any significant measure of development, which have greatly improved the Standard of living of their citizenries, without having “steady and reliable” power supply. NO ECONOMY CAN GROW WITHOUT SUSTAINABLE AND RELIABLE POWER SUPPLY. There cannot be any meaningful investment in any sector of Nigeria without reliable power supply. In fact, modern societies, as a result of population growth, require much energy/power supply to make good transition out of poverty, both for economic and social development. With this understanding, it is therefore imperative for the recently sworn-in President Muhammadu Buhari for a second term, to realize that there is no matter the economic policies, government renewed efforts or whatever intentions they have for the country in the next four years, Nigeria and its citizenry will not make any significant headway/progress/development, if the nation’s power supply does not significantly improve and addressed.
 
 
Zik Gbemre.
 
 
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