{"id":7893,"date":"2025-05-21T19:15:30","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T19:15:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/?p=7893"},"modified":"2025-05-21T19:15:30","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T19:15:30","slug":"adelabu-blasts-discos-warns-of-sector-collapse-without-urgent-investment-in-power-distribution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/21\/adelabu-blasts-discos-warns-of-sector-collapse-without-urgent-investment-in-power-distribution\/","title":{"rendered":"Adelabu Blasts Discos, Warns of Sector Collapse Without Urgent Investment in Power Distribution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom \u2014 May 21, 2025<\/strong> | Nigeria\u2019s Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu<\/strong>, has issued a stern warning over the state of the country\u2019s electricity distribution sector, describing power Distribution Companies (Discos) as the \u201cweakest link\u201d<\/strong> in the nation\u2019s energy value chain.<\/p>\n

Speaking at a Senate Committee on Power retreat, Adelabu lambasted the Discos for poor performance, chronic underinvestment, low remittances<\/strong>, and failing infrastructure\u2014factors he said threaten to undermine recent gains in power generation and transmission.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe need to get tough with the Discos. They\u2019ve disappointed Nigerians and are now frustrating the gains made in generation and transmission,\u201d Adelabu said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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Sector at Risk: Low Revenue and Unsustainable Subsidies<\/strong><\/h3>\n

According to the minister, despite reforms and increased tariffs boosting sector liquidity from \u20a61 trillion in 2023 to \u20a61.7 trillion in 2024<\/strong>, the distribution companies remain underperforming.<\/p>\n

He revealed stark regional disparities in Disco remittances:<\/p>\n

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    Northern Discos<\/strong> remitted only 30%<\/strong> of their \u20a6408.86 billion bill in Q4 2024<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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    Southern Discos<\/strong> fared better with 67%<\/strong> remittance, with Lagos-based Discos accounting for 70%<\/strong> of that figure<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    He described the situation as \u201cunsustainable,\u201d citing a \u20a6200 billion monthly subsidy shortfall<\/strong> and a \u20a64 trillion backlog<\/strong> owed to generation companies\u2014\u20a61.94 trillion of which was accumulated in 2024 alone.<\/p>\n

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    Ailing Infrastructure and Metering Crisis<\/strong><\/h3>\n

    Adelabu said the lack of infrastructure investment\u2014especially in areas outside economic hubs\u2014has deepened inequality in power access, noting that many Discos used bank loans for asset acquisition rather than infrastructure upgrades.<\/p>\n

    He cited the persistent metering gap<\/strong> as a key driver of revenue loss, electricity theft, and consumer distrust<\/strong>. To address this, the government is:<\/p>\n

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      Rolling out the \u20a6700 billion Presidential Metering Initiative (PMI)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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      Partnering with the World Bank<\/strong> to deliver 4.3 million meters<\/strong> by 2025<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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      Already deployed 75,000 meters<\/strong> in April 2024, with another 200,000 expected in May<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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      \u201cClosing the metering gap is fundamental to fair billing and financial sustainability,\u201d he emphasized.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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      Grid Stabilised, But Distribution Still a Bottleneck<\/strong><\/h3>\n

      Despite these challenges, Adelabu reported that the national grid has remained stable throughout 2025<\/strong>, with no recorded collapse<\/strong>. This, he said, was due to hard work and infrastructure upgrades:<\/p>\n

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        61 transformers installed<\/strong> in 2024 by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN)<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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        Additional 13 high-capacity transformers<\/strong> installed in early 2025<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

        Still, he warned that without urgent capital injection into distribution<\/strong>, recent improvements\u2014including a historic 6,003MW generation milestone in March 2025<\/strong>\u2014would not benefit consumers.<\/p>\n

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        Legislation, Vandalism & TCN Underfunding<\/strong><\/h3>\n

        Adelabu urged the National Assembly to pass stricter laws<\/strong> against vandalism, power theft, illegal connections<\/strong>, and meter tampering. He argued that such crimes should be treated as criminal offences<\/strong>, not civil matters.<\/p>\n

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        \u201cOur towers are toppled by saboteurs and meters are tampered with. We need stricter laws and public vigilance to protect these assets,\u201d Adelabu warned.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

        He also called for better funding for TCN<\/strong>, which he said currently operates only on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR)<\/strong> that \u201ccan\u2019t even pay salaries.\u201d Adelabu recommended that the agency be accommodated in federal budget appropriations<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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        Power Plans for Northern Nigeria<\/strong><\/h3>\n

        Adelabu announced targeted efforts to boost supply in underserved northern areas:<\/p>\n

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          Development of the 1,000MW Makurdi hydropower project<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

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          Revival of the 215MW Kaduna Thermal Plant<\/strong>, currently 87% complete but abandoned for five years<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

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          \u201cWe are committed to correcting regional imbalances and ensuring no Nigerian is left behind in our energy reforms,\u201d the minister said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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          Conclusion: Restructuring and Reform Inevitable<\/strong><\/h3>\n

          Adelabu concluded with a warning: underperforming Discos may face restructuring<\/strong>, and the government would enforce performance benchmarks<\/strong> more strictly moving forward.<\/p>\n

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          \u201cWithout urgent reform in distribution, the billions spent on generation and transmission will fail to deliver results. We must act now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

          Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom \u2014 May 21, 2025 | Nigeria\u2019s Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, has issued a stern warning over the state of the country\u2019s electricity distribution sector, describing power Distribution Companies (Discos) as the \u201cweakest link\u201d in the nation\u2019s energy value chain. Speaking at a Senate Committee on Power retreat, Adelabu lambasted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":3810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"Nigeria\u2019s Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu says distribution companies are the weakest link in the energy chain, citing low remittances, underinvestment, and rising subsidy costs.","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[37,35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7893"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7893"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7896,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7893\/revisions\/7896"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shakamomodu.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}