20 states owe electricity bills – DisCos

Electricity distribution companies in Nigeria have lamented that no fewer than 20 of the 36 state governments in the country have refused to pay their electricity bills.

The Discos said some states owe electricity bills consumed by the state house or the secretariat.

The Executive Director of Research and Advocacy, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, Sunday Oduntan, while speaking with our correspondent in a telephone conversation on Monday, said most government agencies were used to free electricity before privatisation, saying they have refused to adjust since the sector was privatised.

Oduntan, the spokesman of the Discos, recalled that the Aso Rock villa owed electricity bills before President Bola Tinubu ordered that it be paid.

“But does it have to get to the President for people that work there to know that they have to pay their bill? We shouldn’t get to the point where we have to threaten a state government or a state house, a ministry, a department or an agency with disconnection,” he stated

Oduntan declared, “If you look at all our states right now, at least 20 states are seen to be owing electricity bills in either the government house or MDAs.”

Oduntan regretted that when the Discos attempted to recover the debts from the state governments, they would have their offices sealed over claims of unpaid taxes to the states.

“When the Discos now go to demand for money to be paid, the next day they (government agents) will go and seal off the Discos’ offices, saying they’re owing them some taxes,” he noted.

The spokesman advised Discos to always pay their taxes, but warned that states should not be mischievous.

“The Discos should pay their taxes, but the states should not be mischievous and be blackmailing the Discos every time we ask them to pay us.

“There is a state governor who is known for that kind of act. And one day, I hope to be able to come forward face-to-face with him and say, ‘Your Excellency, you have not been excellent. Paying your bill is something that you should know that you should do because when you run your generator in your government house, it costs you a lot more,” he asserted.

He refused to mention the governor but promised to make the list of indebted states public as soon as possible

“I don’t want to mention the name of that governor or the state. But I will get outstanding debts from all states. I will need to get the information from the Discos. I will not waste time on it,” he stated

He mentioned that some states owe much while some states do not delay the payment of their electricity bills.

He appealed to the states and all Nigerians to pay their bills regularly as that is the only way the sector could be transformed.

“We have a lot of issues when it comes to paying for electricity. Things are getting better now than it was in the past. But I’m still appealing to the states and Nigerians in general to please put the nation first,” he pleaded.

Our correspondent recall that the Kaduna Disco had its office sealed after it disconnected the power supply to the Kaduna State Government House and other state government offices over unpaid bills amounting to N2.9bn. The Kaduna Electric headquarters was sealed off by the Kaduna Internal Revenue Service over what it called unpaid taxes of over N600m.

Similarly, the Federal Inland Revenue Service in July sealed the headquarters of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, barely a month after the AEDC last published the FIRS as one of its debtors. Its debt was put at N362m as of January.

In 2022, the offices of the Oyo State Government were disconnected by the Ibadan Disco over N450m debt. The government, in return, sealed off IBEDC offices, saying the power company was owing N400m in debt – N139.44m in harmonised bills, N122.59m in infrastructure bills, N116.51m in tax audit bills, and N22m in signage bills.

Last month, the IBEDC said the Ayede transmission station was locked down by the Oyo State Government, impacting its ability to supply power to some areas in the state. The PUNCH learned that some government facilities were earlier disconnected over debts.

A few days after it issued disconnection notices over unpaid electricity debt, the corporate headquarters of the Enugu Disco and its offices were sealed off in June by the Enugu State Government. EEDC said the Enugu government alone was indebted to it to the tune of N1bn, out of a total of N1.8bn unpaid electricity debt in the region.

The Secretary to the State Government, Chidiebere Onyia, in a letter forwarded to the EEDC, said that the company earlier issued a notice of disconnection and subsequently disconnected power supply to some of the government’s offices and institutions in the state

Onyia, a professor, accused the EEDC of relying on estimated billing methodology instead of meter billing methodology, which he described as “unlawful, malicious, callous and vexatious.”