Reps Panel Summons CBN, DISCOS, Over $321m, N18.2b Loans For Electricity Projects

 

The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has summoned the management of the Central Bank of Nigeria and 11 Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) over $321 million and N18.2 billion in loans for the accelerated transmission distribution interface, lines and substation projects.

The committee issued the summon on Thursday when the Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Sule Abdulaziz, appeared before it.

The Chairman of the Committee, Bamidele Salam (PDP, Osun), explained that the loans were taken during the last administration to enhance the transmission and distribution infrastructure but were not judiciously used.

“Sometime in 2021, the then president Muhammadu Buhari granted that certain funds be made available for enhancing the capacity of our transmission and distribution lines to be able to have a more robust power sector intervention and these funds were made available for certain projects to the distribution companies.

“It is the concern of the petitioner that the funds have not been judiciously used and that the project ought to have been delivered by now upon which we caused a letter to be written to the Transmission Company of Nigeria which also sent in a response stating the status report of the project as well as the procedure for the implementation of that loan disbursement and execution of the project by the distribution companies,” he said.

While being grilled on the use of the loans, Mr Abdulaziz said the money was given directly to the DISCOs by the CBN. He added that the CBN and the operators are in the best position to explain the use of the loans.

He said TCN was supposed to finance the project, however, the agency does not have such money hence the government asked the CBN to fund it.

“It was observed that TCN does not have that amount to do those projects. So the federal government involved the CBN as the entity to finance the projects. NERC, being the regulator now, is the one leading the exercise. TCN is just a beneficiary of the project. It was signed by the DISCOs,” he said.

Also speaking, the TCN Market Operator, Edmond Eje, said NERC oversaw engagement between TCN and 11 DISCOs to align on a list of critical interface projects that would significantly increase TCN’s capacity to unlock DISCOs energy demand in critical load centres.

He said a total of 125 projects were identified and agreed upon in the tripartite engagement.

The Commission approved the project list of 125 projects as well as the securing of financing from the CBN for the same project to the tune of about N122.3 billion in loan.

“The TCN and the 11 distribution companies set up a multi-stakeholder project management office that was responsible for undertaking the procurement and eventual monitoring and evaluation of the project to implement the DISCO intervention,” he said.

After the arguments, the committee ruled that the CBN and all the DISCOs appear before it on 8 November.

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