EnigmaticEnigma:


Look, you can always make yourself useful, especially when you have so much clout as the freaking "MINISTER OF POWER".

It's simple, if he as useless as you say he is and he possesses even an ounce of integrity, then he should step down and save the nation some much needed income. Else, he should get to work, even if it is just as a lobbyist with that clout, he would get so much done.

My Dad was once in those circles and he was an excellent lobbyist to the point that he would get backlogs of issues that needed authorization from a different "department", sorted just by lobbying those with the direct authorization needed to solve his "departments" problems. He didn't just sit down, fold his arms and say there was nothing he could do.

I am of the opinion that the power ministry should be scrapped not because of Fashola, but because the ministry has outlived its usefulness. If you sit down to analyse the problems of the power sector, then you'll know that no matter who the minister is, until certain things are put in place, Nigeria would have power problems.

Those certain things i talked about are in the "chicken vs egg" category.

If you are using prepaid and paying for it, they will give you more so they can make more profit. They do not want to provide prepaid meter because they cheat people by charging them much through estimated bill and give them less electricity, rejecting electricity to reduce the amount they pay for

menxer:
PHEDC, Uyo, dey try.
We dey see light at least 12 hours per day for my location in Uyo.
Not bad Sha.

progress69:


We should go back to PHCN. Simple. All this excuses are very silly ones. The truth is that this discos were sold to family and friends, political associates and the likes, instead of competent firms who are experienced. Some of the owners of these discos are actually major importers of Generators and petroleum products.

You wanted privatisation, you got it. Now they cant sell more to you since you already owe them huge amount, you want them out. Sorry, go and repair your generator and if you dont own one yet, get one and generate yourself. Shikenah!

ayobase:


Why will a consumer (not customer) bypass in the first place - we all see reasons we are still here!

Change starts with individuals.

Average Nigerians will want to cheat no matter how - it is in the blood.

Instead of Discos wasting money on more robust technology to check make meter bypassing by cheating Nigerians and Discos' staff, why can't the government pass a law against power theft and make it well renowned.

The laws are already there, but even the Discos don't have the zeal and willingness to use same against the default consumer, because the status quo benefit the Discos more

ayobase:


This man has no or partial knowledge of what he is talking about.

Abuja Electricity Disco controls Abuja, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger State.

In minna alone - more than 70mw is being consumed comfortably, and you have about 40% who are not ready to pay - They are still claiming power state after privatization.

About 20-30% bypassed and among others.

The only place Abuja Electricity Disco generates more revenue is from Abuja.

So, how do you expect same company to supply Minna a whole 60mw when they are not sure of getting paid for just 10mw, and this buhari recession come affect a whole lot of customers.

Many consumers are fighting against pre-paid meter, while there are some locations (Chanchaga, Barkin sale, Kpakungu and others) that have become out of bound to AEDC staff.

People don't wanna pay for what they consume, and you expect Discos not to reject what they can't account for.

Consumers-related organizations have much on their sleeves to tackle.

Bless you, this issue of high losses is actually mostly from the consumer side.. Bypassed meters, so called no collection zones for fear of life,clusters that are grossly underbilled you see someone in one room different industrial appliances he has no business using in an R2 tariff, yet they all want constant power.. Newsflash energy isn't free.. Pay for what you use. Shikena

agabusta:


I just dont understand. Some people are alleging that it is because they will still make their money from estimated bills. And they in turn will not pay for the rejected power.

bro u nailed it, they know they will still charge whatever they want from the customers and customers will have no option but to pay. the whole privatisation exercise was a scam, I was hoping buhari would have the courage to revisit it , but that is not likely to happen.

PentiumPro:


The reason is simple.
Any Disco that cannot reasonably and effectively metered the electricity it distributes will not be able to pay the Gencos and will just keep accumulating debt. The issue is worsened now with the fact that 1, estimated billing is becoming difficult to collect, 2, it's almost now illegal to disconnect owning customers.
The ultimate solution is to METERED ALL ELECTRICITY CONSUMERS.. Anything outside that will not work

.

Let me add to your suggestion ... the distribution companies should ensure all metered electric consumers are unable to bypass their meter by deploying the latest technology. Work with Lagos state government on the use of mobile courts to ensure that any consumer that tempers with his/her meter receives court judgment same day.

TheAlchemist:
.

Let me add to your suggestion ... the distribution companies should ensure all metered electric consumers are unable to bypass their meter by deploying the latest technology. Work with Lagos state government on the use of mobile courts to ensure that any consumer that tempers with his/her meter receives court judgment same day.

I really hope that the disco people are following this thread

AZeD1:

They are rejecting it because the can't afford to pay for it.
As of now, the Minister of Power is a more or less a ceremonial post because there's really nothing the power minister can do to the gencos and discos since they are private entities.

not true, the govt as represented by the power minister has the power to define policies and set regulations, it also has the power to mete out appropriate sanctions to bodies that violate its regulations.

Over 60 percent of discos feeders are high loss feeders,to the tune of up to 70% or higher which means if you pass say100mw to such feeders at the end of the month you won't be able to collect the cash equivalent of 100 mw but 30mw...now multiply this by the number of high loss feeders a disco owns,yet the disco has to pay for energy sent from tcn completely,so you see that such loss accumulations is bad for business especially when you remove capex opex.
As a consumer of electricity... Try to pay your bills on time,don't bypass energy meters,Don't bribe disconnection teams with 2000 naira wen your bill is 20k..18k backlogs to the disco... Etc etc so steady supply of power is teamwork people

TheAlchemist:
.

Let me add to your suggestion ... the distribution companies should ensure all metered electric consumers are unable to bypass their meter by deploying the latest technology. Work with Lagos state government on the use of mobile courts to ensure that any consumer that tempers with his/her meter receives court judgment same day.

Not very practical.. Given the number and customer type discos work with.Good luck dragging an ex militant that just bypassed his meter to court or a military officer who's high ranking... Or a native doctor... Or a minister.. The list goes on and on.

yommen:


You wanted privatisation, you got it. Now they cant sell more to you since you already owe them huge amount, you want them out. Sorry, go and repair your generator and if you dont own one yet, get one and generate yourself. Shikenah!

who owes them huge amount? in my location l don't get light for more than 3 hours in a day and some day nothing, but they still bring exorbitant bills and ask us to pay for power we never used. that's daylight robbery.

ernieboy:

who owes them huge amount? in my location l don't get light for more than 3 hours in a day and some day nothing, but they still bring exorbitant bills and ask us to pay for power we never used. that's daylight robbery.

Do you have a working meter? If yes, you shouldn't have an issue with your bills.If you wish to dispute your bills, go to the customer care of your disco and request a load assessment on your property and reconcile your load profile with your billing.

preacherz:
90% of prepaid meter users in the Country bypassed their meter

Now ask your self if you are a part of this 90% before making hypocritical comments


Udo

where did u get that statistics from? any citation or u just sit down in your room and pull figures from tin air, besides whose responsibility is it to secure their network?

macaranta:

Not very practical.. Given the number and customer type discos work with.Good luck dragging an ex militant that just bypassed his meter to court or a military officer who's high ranking... Or a native doctor... Or a minister.. The list goes on and on.

why not? are they above the law?

yommen:


You wanted privatisation, you got it. Now they cant sell more to you since you already owe them huge amount, you want them out. Sorry, go and repair your generator and if you dont own one yet, get one and generate yourself. Shikenah!

Mr man, look Bush. I don't pay bills. It's paid by the defence ministry. And never in your wildest imagination think the privatization can't be reversed or revised. This discos are useless thieves and incompetent clowns. If I hear u breath if they start shouting increments of terrific again, I will break your nose.

grandstar:


The federal and state governments are owing the DISCOS 300billion? And most Nigerian consumers feel it's their birthright either not to pay for electricity, to steal outright or tamper and pay only a portion. Onless an iron hand is unleashed on all parties, the power sector will be in a qusndary

are these not the problems that bedevilled the former NEPA and phcn that privatization was supposed to fix? the various investors were supposed to bring in innovations and solutions that will tackle the challenges that faced phcn, but it seems they wanted to treat it as a source for free money.

ernieboy:

not true, the govt as represented by the power minister has the power to define policies and set regulations, it also has the power to mete out appropriate sanctions to bodies that violate its regulations.

That is the function of NERC.

Incase your all wondering functions of Ministry of power.

ernieboy:

not true, the govt as represented by the power minister has the power to define policies and set regulations, it also has the power to mete out appropriate sanctions to bodies that violate its regulations.

AZeD1:

That is the function of NERC.

Source: http://www.power.gov.ng/index.php/about-us

Initiating and formulating broad policies and programmes on the development of the power sector (electricity) in general

Facilitating the overall coordination of the activities of the Parastatals under its supervision.

AZeD1:

That is the function of NERC.

nerc does not set policies, it only regulates, policy decisions is still purely the responsibility of the power ministry and besides nerc is an agency of the executive arm of govt, not some foreign entity that cannot be controlled by govt.

ceragon123:
If you are using prepaid and paying for it, they will give you more so they can make more profit. They do not want to provide prepaid meter because they cheat people by charging them much through estimated bill and give them less electricity, rejecting electricity to reduce the amount they pay for

Well, we weren't discussing tariff/pricing but availability so I left that out. anyways you are right my consumption as of this month is 207 kwh @N5500. Though it's this their digital meter (not prepaid) I do suspect I am always over charged.
(pun intended)

agabusta:
The power problem in this country is multifaceted. It needs iron hand. Fashola seems inundated and too soft with these discos.

Mynd44, OAM4J, Lalasticlala please come and see this interesting report. Discos are turning down power supply despite that people are eagerly and prayerfully waiting to receive such electricity.

Something is definitely wrong somewhere with the power administration and management in this country.

Blame it on their costly estimate bill system ,if only they provide prepaid meter all these rubbish will stop.

macaranta:

Not very practical.. Given the number and customer type discos work with.Good luck dragging an ex militant that just bypassed his meter to court or a military officer who's high ranking... Or a native doctor... Or a minister.. The list goes on and on.

I mean they don't have to drag with them, they can have a prepaid meter but at the end of the month, if your usage surpasses a prepaid balance equated to assumed use, simply disconnect the light, deduct it from the prepaid balance and if there's any balance, don't reconnect until paid in full. What I'm trying to say is this

You have a prepaid balance of N1,000 and you supposed consumed N800, supposedly your prepaid should be N200, if after end of the month cycle reading, your usage is valued at N800 but your prepaid balance is still showing N,1000 on your account, simply deduct and if there's a balance, disconnect until paid in full.

This would bring some sought of sanity into the system, most customers are just as guilty as the discos in question.

Blue3k:
Incase your all wondering functions of Ministry of power.





Source: http://www.power.gov.ng/index.php/about-us

did u read the document you posted the very first few paragraphs actually confirms what I just said, the power ministry formulates policies and regulations...just read the doc. nerc does not formulate policies, it only regulates.

Polyphony:
I have a dream!!! That one day Nigeria will have uninterrupted power supply everyday...
Then I woke up.

woke up and saw darkness loom everywhere.

ernieboy:

did u read the document you posted the very first few paragraphs actually confirms what I just said, the power ministry formulates policies and regulations...just read the doc. nerc does not formulate policies, it only regulates.

Your preaching to the choir dude. I posted this to prove that point. I'm reading law right now for more proof. Why do you think I posted those quotes?

Btw the NERC can make policies as long as they are in line with Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005. That's part of their job. The minister still has sway over the board as well.

progress69:


[size=14pt]Mr man, look Bush. I don't pay bills. It's paid by the defence ministry[/size]. And never in your wildest imagination think the privatization can't be reversed or revised. This discos are useless thieves and incompetent clowns. If I hear u breath if they start shouting increments of terrific again, I will break your nose.

No wonder you are so lousy and unreasonable while defending this inept govt. You have no right to speak on this thread cos you are one of those using free light since govt' agencies are perennial energy debtors.

ernieboy:

are these not the problems that bedevilled the former NEPA and phcn that privatization was supposed to fix? the various investors were supposed to bring in innovations and solutions that will tackle the challenges that faced phcn, but it seems they wanted to treat it as a source for free money.

What magic wand will the DISCOS use to force the federal and distributors governments to pay?

Rad1cal:


No wonder you are so lousy and unreasonable while defending this inept govt. You have no right to speak on this thread cos you are one of those using free light since govt' agencies are perennial energy debtors.

This one nor get sense. We are talking of discos privately owned is talking about government. Go and meet your mates.

grandstar:


What magic wand will the DISCOS use to force the federal and distributors governments to pay?

what magic wand do private companies that offer services to govt use to force govt to pay? I recall during nitel days this same trend was prevalent, influential politicians and govt offices will never pay their telephones bills but why are that not doing same since the privatization of the telecom sector. the discos only need to meter all their customers and diligently monitor their network, with prepaid meters no customer can accumulate debt.

ayobase:


Outrageous bills most times to augment what's lost as a result of atc&c loss - mostly from consumers, Nigerians.

There is never a smoke without a fire.

You have a neighbour who uses over N10,000 worth of electricity per month, but pays a token of N2,000 due to bypassing. Where do you think the 8k dey?

Report that your neighbour, and the corrupt "NEPA" man who helped with the connection.

You're obviously an INSIDER since u know atc&c losses, bypass and energy theft. Kudos to u

Blue3k:


Your preaching to the choir dude. I posted this to prove that point. I'm reading law right now for more proof. Why do you think I posted those quotes?

Btw the NERC can make policies as long as they are in line with Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005. That's part of their job. The minister still has sway over the board as well.

ow OK.