Electricity Firm Appoints Payment Agency

The Nigerian Bulk Elec
tricity Trading Plc (NBET) has appointed Stanbic IBTC as the Payment Management Services provider or payment agent, to the Bulk Trader.
Managing Director of NBET, Rumundaka  Wonodi said that at the contract signing ceremony in Abuja last week, Stanbic IBTC has by this appointment assumed the responsibility for efficient and  effective payment processing between NBET and the power Generating Company’s (GENCOS) in line with underlying power purchase agreement.
In addition to effective payments on behalf of the Bulk Trader, Wonodi said Stanbic IBTC would support NBETs treasury department with liquidity management and planning.
“Stanbic IBTC’s proposed platform for the services will secure easy access to the platform for NBET’s counter parties to view in voices, spool historical data and payment confirmation’s”, he said.
The Managing Director expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the process handled by KPMG which ultimately resulted in the selection  of Stanbic IBTC as NBET’s payment agent and noted that the appointment was in line with his company’s  strategy of employing the best service providers to complement in-house competence especially treasury functions making the Bulk Trader a lean and efficient institution.
He described the event as the completion of about one year process facilitated by KPMG where the company’s board approved that it should procure, through a competitive process, a payment agent, a financial institution that would undertake payment on behalf of Bulk Trader as well as support treasury process.
“Today, we are kind of finalizing that arrangement and going forward, they will be providing us those services. It is important that we went out through this procurement platform and it is important we  have a payment agent that would support the Bulk Trader’, he stated.
He explained that one of the issues the company would have in the Transitional Electricity Market (TEM) is that before the TEM, payment was structured in such a way that was not familiar with market participants.
NBET is a Federal Government owned company established in pursuance of the power sector road map towards full implementation of Electricity Power Sector Reform Act.
It enters into agreement with generation companies in terms of power purchase and also resells power to distribution companies through vesting contracts.