Innocent Lord Douglas, Deputy General Secretary of SSAEAC (South-East and South-South), gave his opinion on the limited or lack of electricity supply in Rivers State.
According to him, no manager at a DISCO has access to the funds consumers pay until the end of the month, as payments go directly to the Central Bank of Nigeria, which deducts charges before releasing funds. As a result, DISCOs struggle to adequately pay GENCOs that supply gas for electricity distribution. He added that many consumers do not meet their payment obligations, and some users are not captured in the database. While DISCOs receive energy from the national grid, certain areas are not supplied because consumers refuse to pay, despite using more power than average, often citing limited supply. Because of this, more power is prioritised for Band A users and prepaid meter customers, where payments are immediate, and cost recovery is assured. However, due to heavy debts, much of the revenue goes into loan repayment, leaving little profit. He also noted that power generation is insufficient, as gas companies are owed trillions, and the grid lacks the capacity to purchase more, so limited supply is directed to areas with immediate returns. see video:
