BY EDITOR ON JAN 20, 2017POWER
The request for an intervention by the Federal Government in addressing the N1tn shortfall in the electricity industrys revenue will not be granted as the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has stated that the government will not provide monetary assistance to operators in the power sector, The Punch reports.
According to Fashola, the Federal Government had earlier provided N213bn as subsidy to the operators and will not do so again. The liquidity problem in the power sector has been described by several stakeholders as a major challenge inhibiting the optimum performance of operators in the industry. They have urged the government to intervene either by providing subsidy or by coming up with workable measures to address the financial challenge.
Speaking on Wednesday night at a forum in Abuja, Fashola explained that the government considered the N213bn Nigeria Electricity Market Stabilisation Fund provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria as enough subsidy for the sector. He stated that the NEMSF was a low-interest loan, which operators had accessed and used to upgrade their assets and services. The minister therefore noted that he was unsure about the repeated request by some operators in the market for government subsidy.
