Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has affirmed that government ministries, departments and agencies must pay for electricity they consume.
Disclosing this on Friday during the inauguration of the dispatch of additional 220 megawatts at Egbin Power Plant in Lagos, Fashola stressed that Federal Government would ensure that the power sector remains “sufficiently funded”.
Earlier, the Chairman of Egbin Power Plc, Kola Adesina, while appealing for the intervention of the Minister, said the power firm was currently being owed N47bn.
The Egbin Power Station is Nigeria’s biggest generating plant and it’s set to operate at its installed capacity of 1,320MW following the revival of a turbine that had been idle for years.
It is learnt that the additional 220MW of electricity from Egbin to the national grid would be distributed by Ikeja Electric and Eko Electricity Distribution Company.
On the issue of debt in the sector, Fashola, pledged to resolved the problem but stressed that only verified debt would be paid.
“We will pay debts that are legally contracted and verifiable. Going forward also, we have said that as government, we must demonstrate the clear necessity for everybody that consumes power to pay for what they consume, and government will start by showing example. One of the first things I checked as minister of power was whether the ministry of power owed, power firms.
“I am happy to say that the Ministry of Power is not owing. Now, we are already planning to ensure that all other ministries, works and housing, bring up their books so that we can pay up whatever we are owing the power providers. And this, we expect, will demonstrate to other consumers including departments, commissions, military, security; everybody must pay what they have owed,” Fashola said.
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