The acting Managing Director of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company, Mrs Rekhiat Momoh, has revealed that the company is owed ₦144 billion by various ministries, departments, and agencies within its service area.
This was disclosed by Mrs. Momoh during a visit by the House of Representatives Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation to the company’s office in Lagos, according to The Punch.
She highlighted that unpaid electricity bills from the Nigerian military, the police, and other state government agencies have become a significant financial challenge for EKEDC.
This issue reflects a broader problem within Nigeria’s power sector, where electricity distribution companies have recently reported that 20 out of the country’s 36 state governments have failed to settle their electricity bills.
The Discos said some states owed electricity bills consumed by the state house or the secretariat.
“If you look at all our states right now, at least 20 states are seen to be owing electricity bills in either the government house or MDAs,” the Executive Director of Research and Advocacy, Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors, Sunday Oduntan, stated last week.
Oduntan expressed regret that when DisCos attempt to recover these debts, they often face retaliation, with state governments sealing their offices over alleged unpaid taxes.
The EKEDC CEO emphasised that despite challenges in the power sector, the company had successfully minimised its aggregate technical, commercial, and collections losses ratio.
Momoh noted that the company had successfully lowered its ATC&C losses from 35% in 2023 to 15.1% in 2024.
She added that the company has over 700,000 of its customers metered.
She added that the DisCo was working out modalities in collaboration with the Federal Government Distribution Sector Recovery Programme to procure an additional 92,000 meters for its customers.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, Hamisu Ibrahim reaffirmed the committee’s commitment to collaborating with other House committees to draft laws combating electricity theft nationwide.
Ibrahim, who led other members of the committee on an oversight visit to the Eko DisCo, decried the rate of electricity theft in the country, saying the legislation would check the abuse.
