- Calls out FG on N600bn power debt to Transcorp
Onome Amuge
Transnational Corporation (Transcorp Plc) has seen its listed entities’ market value soar to $3bn (N4.5trn), a significant increase from under N20bn when the current leadership took over in 2011, Chairman Tony Elumelu announced at the conglomerate’s 19th annual general meeting held recently in Lagos.
Elumelu, in his presentation, dwelled on the listing of Transcorp Power Ughelli last year, which now boasts a market capitalisation exceeding N2.7 trillion, underscoring the group’s role in catalysing development, particularly within the critical power sector.Â
According to the chairman, Transcorp Power Ughelli and Transafam have a combined installed electricity generation capacity of 2,000 MW. However, available capacity stands at approximately 1,000 MW in a nation consuming less than 5,000 MW, indicating Transcorp’s substantial contribution to the national grid.
Despite a challenging economic climate, Elumelu revealed that Transcorp Power had fully repaid a $215 million loan taken in 2014 for the acquisition of Transcorp Power Ughelli, demonstrating the resilience of the subsidiary.Â
However, Elumelu issued a warning regarding the persistent challenges plaguing Nigeria’s power sector, 12 years after significant private investment. He identified liquidity, infrastructure deficits, and gas availability as unresolved dominant issues. Critically, he revealed that the Nigerian federal government owes Transcorp over N600 billion ($400mn) for electricity already generated and supplied to the grid.
“Much as we as patriotic Nigerian investors are committed to supporting the efforts of the Federal government in fixing the Nigerian economy, we have been under excruciating burden of subsidising the sector as producers who do not get paid for the electricity we generate,” Elumelu stated, deeming the situation totally not sustainable and requiring “urgent attention.”
While acknowledging the well-intended initiatives of President Bola Tinubu’s administration in the power sector, including efforts to repay debts to Generation Companies (GENCOs), the presidential metering initiative, and the separation of the Independent System Operator from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Elumelu stressed the critical need for ruthless, result-oriented and timely execution before the sector’s potential collapse.
He called on all parties involved to prioritise this critical national task immediately and expedite the payment of outstanding debts to GENCOs. He also urged the quickening of meter delivery under the presidential initiative and immediate attention to transmission infrastructure, advocating for special incentives to boost investment in gas and gas infrastructure development, expressing optimism regarding the new leadership at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in fast-tracking gas supply solutions.
Elumelu highlighted the importance of completing the ongoing OB3 gas pipeline, which is expected to link the gas-constrained eastern network with the relatively better-supplied western network, positively impacting gas-to-power supply.
