Fashola Assures Improved Power Supply In 2017

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, has advised stakeholders in the Power sector to look forward to the implementation of polices that would improve power supply and liquidity as well as the completion of several power projects by the Federal Government in 2017.
Fashola, while making his opening address as guest speaker at the January edition of the Nextier Power Dialogue held at the Thought Pyramid Art Centre, said the ministry with other relevant agencies like ministry of Finance and the World Bank, had put together a policy frame work that would help establish stronger and better institutional framework needed to tackle the challenges in the power sector.
According to the Minister, such policies would help realise a deepening of metering sanctions for energy theft and better contract performance from operators in the power sector as well as help to achieve the financial strengthening of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading PlC (NBET).
Saying he would not discuss the policies yet in detail at the event because they were in the process of being presented for consideration and approval by the Federal Executive Council, Fashola however assured that when implemented they would certainly take the nation to more gas and assure payment to gas suppliers and generation companies to enhance smooth operation in the sector adding that they constitute the way forward.
“Clearly these policies constitute the way forward and ensure that everybody in the system gets paid. If we have that, at least, we can be sure that those who are supplying gas will not be shutting down because their creditors are pulling them. Then we go to the other side that are angry to see what we can do because gas problem is exacerbated on both sides”, he said.
Fashola, while explaining the current decreased power supply and outages across the country, blamed the sabotage of oil and gas pipelines by those he described as ‘some of our angry brothers’, adding that because of the debt owed gas companies by the electricity distribution companies (DISCOs), the companies also withheld supply of gas.