Fred Ezeh, Abuja
The Federal Governmen has expressed its displeasure with the recent report that N24 billion is being lost monthly to imported energy.
The government explained that the figure was the amount spent on importation of diesel, which many Nigerians rely on, to power their generators.
Minister of State for Power, Sulaiman Hassan, who made this known at the 24th monthly power sector stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja, insisted that Nigerians should seek alternative source of energy to complement government’s effort to improve power supply.
The monthly power sector stakeholders’ meeting was a platform for Power Generation and Distribution Companies (Gencos and Discos), as well as stakeholders at the value chain to discuss recent development in the sector and way forward.
The government, however, insisted that high power consuming homes, offices and industries must generate their own source of power in order to enjoy reliable power supply.
He added: “The reports indicated that diesel importation has declined in the past two years, which is an indication that Nigerians now run their generators for few hours due to the intervention of other sources of energy.
“Nevertheless, the report further indicated that 300 million litres of diesel is being used by Nigerians to power generators every month. Regrettably, 75 per cent of the diesel is being imported and that had increased pressure on scarce forex.
“If 40 per cent of the imported diesel used for power generation in Nigeria is bought at the average retail price of N200 per litre, then the report that indicated that N24 billion was being lost monthly in the electricity industry to imported energy was correct.
Meanwhile, the Managing Director of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Usman Mohammed, was optimistic that the stakeholders would proffer superior solution to some identified issues in the sector.