CBN, Others Urged to Reposition Power

• CBN, Others Urged to Reposition Power

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Deposit Monetary Banks (DMBs) and other financial institutions should collaborate with a view to repositioning the power sector for growth, Growth & Development Asset Management Limited (GDL) Managing Director, Kola Ayeye, has said.

Ayeye, who urged the CBN and other financial institutiions to persuade General Electric and other firms to invest in the power sector to enable it perform optimally, said: ”The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Central Bank of Nigeria and other banks should, on a competitive basis, invite a global player in the caliber of GE (General Electric), or such similar players to commit to generate, transmit and distribute a minimum of 20,000 megawatts (Mw) daily within five years, increasing same to 30,000Mw daily by the 10th year.

At an interactive forum in Lagos, organised by the firm, Ayeye advised the country against using old methods to proffer solution to the problems in the sector, adding that the option is not globally acceptable.

“The Federal Government should award contracts to bigger players in the sector, not the smaller and inexperienced ones. It is not the business of Nigeria to know how the companies generate, transmit or distribute power. Our business is to see that they deliver power at the right time and get paid for their services.

The government, Ayeye said, should back the contracts given to bigger firms with a 10-year payment guarantee, with a view to making them deliver their services.

He said: “Let us find a partner, who will take over available power assets across the entire value chain. But our commitment will be to pay for power delivered to the consumer. This contract will be between $8-12bn, and is definitely of a sufficient scale to attract a global best-in-class operator.”

Ayeye, a former Executive Director, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON”, decried the level of default of both electricity generation companies (GENCOS) and distribution companies (DISCOS) to the banks, saying such entities should be put up for reconcessioning/reprivatisation either through voluntary collaboration with CBN/NERC/banks, or through receivership where the operator refuses to cooperate.

“All such GENCOs and DISCOs, together with TCN, he opined, will be concessioned to this new operator.The new program will require collaboration between CBN, the banks and other class operators. This operator will be responsible for the entire value chain covering feedstock production, generation, transmission, distribution and col.