- ‘Power Firms Don’t Gain Anything from Blackouts’
The Group Managing Director, Sahara Power Group, Mr Kola Adesina, has said power firms do not gain anything from blackouts as their business is to sell electricity to consumers.
Adesina stated this on Monday in Lagos, adding that the absence of cost-reflective tariff was limiting the power providers’ capacity to deliver better services.
“The current pricing formula being adopted for electricity in Nigeria cannot and will not engender availability in any way or form. To make it so simple for us, the hypothetical price of electricity is N10; meanwhile, the government by regulation says we should charge N6. How possible is it for us to continue to create a commodity and sell below the cost price?” he said at the inauguration of Ikeja Electric’s PTC Undertaking Office in Ikeja GRA.
Adesina stated, “As we speak today, the intention of the government ultimately will be after politics, then let’s get back to common sense of pricing the commodity correctly. But while that is going on, please note that the capacity and capability of the providers of the service will be limited. We wish we can do more; we want to do more.
“If you have electricity, we are better off. If you don’t switch off your light, we are better off, because we are going to collect revenue from you. We, as electricity suppliers, do not in any way gain anything whatsoever from darkness. Our business is to provide light; our business is not to sell darkness.
“But we can only do that if all the customers pay bills and do not steal electricity or bypass our meters and connect directly. In Sahara, we have a mantra: we want to bring energy to life. We want to be a provider of choice wherever electricity or energy is consumed.”
The Chief Executive Officer, Ikeja Electric, Dr Anthony Youdeowei, said with the new office, the promise of providing dedicated and premium power to Ikeja GRA was already materialising.
He stated, “Customers in this vicinity will no doubt feel the positive impact of this state-of-the art office, which has come to complement our efforts to boost power supply in Ikeja GRA. As I speak with you, the quality of supply and service has improved tremendously as envisaged.
“Looking into the nearest future, we are working towards ensuring a 24-hour supply for residents of Ikeja GRA.”
