The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu has proposed unbundling of various regional electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) in different states to enable more localised oversight.
The minister during a meeting with the governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, said this is important to expedite state involvement in the electricity sector in a meaningful transformation that hinged on the active participation of state governments.
Adelabu highlighted the pivotal role of the state’s involvement in the sector through distribution segment, reducing metering gap, enforcing bills collection, rural electrification, combatting power theft, preventing asset vandalisation and securing right-of-way for transmission lines.
He said to achieve this, the ministry plans to collaborate closely with state ministries of power, energy and public utilities.
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“Financial collaboration modalities between the federal and state governments will be explored, possibly involving a swap of federal government stakes in DISCOs with states’ stakes in the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC)”.
He added that addressing challenges in the distribution segment requires unified efforts from sub-national governments due to its retail nature.
He underscored the vested interests of state governments in distribution, being closer to DisCos and better positioned to support and monitor them to achieve their performance improvement plans.
In a statement, he also highlighted collaboration opportunities in rural electrification, encouraging states to establish active rural electrification boards working in tandem with the ministry’s Rural Electrification Agency.
Responding, Otti, commended the minister’s well-thought-out strategies and expressed support for his transformative efforts.
