The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has suspended the disbursement of the N213 billion intervention fund for the power sector over planned controversial tariff review, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE ) has revealed.
Director General of BPE, Mr. Benjamin Dikki, who made the disclosure in Lagos, said CBN suspended the disbursement of the fund following the contentious plan by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), to implement upward review of electricity tariff by as high as 40 percent.
Dikki who described the planned tariff review as “strange,” stressed that it was not included in the agreement for the disbursement of the fund when it was introduced in 2014.
According to him, implementation of the electricity tariff review in addition to the CBN intervention, might lead to over-funding of the power sector, hence the CBN decision to suspend further disbursement of the fund.
“The fund was introduced as a loan facility to assist power generating companies, GENCOs, and the distribution companies, DISCOs, to settle their gas debts, execute agreed metering programmes and finance procurement of transformers,” he explained.
The BPE boss disclosed that about 50 percent of the N213 billion intervention fund has already been disbursed to some GENCOs and DISCOs prior to the CBN decision.
By Olisemeka Obeche