ADELABU CONDEMNS DISCO FAILURES, WARNS ON POWER SUBSIDY CRISIS, METERS SHORTAGE
Minister of Power Adebayo Adelabu has slammed Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies (DisCos) for poor service delivery, describing their failures as a key bottleneck to national power improvement.
Speaking at a Senate Committee retreat, Adelabu said most DisCos have failed to invest in infrastructure, while blaming them for frustrating generation and transmission improvements. He cited huge discrepancies in revenue remittance: northern DisCos paid only 30% of their bills in Q4 2024, compared to 67% in the south—mostly from Lagos.
A ¦700 billion Presidential Metering Initiative has begun closing Nigeria’s huge metering gap, with 75,000 meters deployed in April 2024 and another 200,000 expected in May. However, a ¦4 trillion subsidy debt looms, with ¦1.94 trillion owed for 2024 alone.
Adelabu announced looming reforms, including possible restructuring of underperforming DisCos and regionalizing transmission to reduce failures. He urged the National Assembly to legislate tougher penalties for vandalism of energy infrastructure.
