26 industries sign up to bypass DisCos for direct power supply from GenCos
Bukola Odufade is Businessamlive Reporter.
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Twenty-six industrial electricity customers have signed up to be supplied power directly from power generation companies (GenCos) instead of from the distribution companies (DisCos) under the eligible consumers’ scheme approved by the federal government in 2017, Babatunde Fashola, minister of power, works and housing, has said in Minna, Niger State.
The eligible customers regime seeks to enable large users of electricity in Nigeria’s power sector get adequate supplies directly from power GenCos.
Fashola, disclosed this at the August 2018 edition of the monthly power sector operators meeting, while also stating that five industrial consumers were already benefiting from the scheme.
Fashola said that the eligible customer policy has started yielding fruits as Mainstream Energy Limited, an electricity distribution company (GenCo) has signed on five industrial customers. “Information reaching me shows that five industrial customers are now benefitting from the policy and taking their power directly from a GENCO, who incidentally is our host today, Messrs Mainstream Energy Ltd,” the minister explained.
The federal government had also completed arrangements to concession six hydro dams to private operators under a build, operate and transfer (BOT) scheme, he revealed.
He said “we proposed to use six small hydro dams that had been abandoned for decades to power Federal Government owned universities and some markets as anchors. Apart from the universities, where government is directly funding the intervention, the markets are being privately funded.”