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The Federal Government says it has received a $500m credit from the World Bank to boost the financial and technical capacities of electricity distribution companies.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria said in a public notice on Thursday that the Federal Government received the credit through the Presidential Metering Initiative from the World Bank under the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development toward the cost of the Distribution Sector Recovery Programme.
According to TCN, the government intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services.
“The bank agrees to lend to the Federal Government the sum of $500,000,000 to assist in financing the DISREP programme,” TCN said.
According to the notice, the main objective of the DISREP programme is to improve the financial and technical performance of the Discos.
The $500m, TCN said, is meant to implement the Performance Improvement Plan of each Disco in different areas.
It is expected that the fund would improve the Discos’ performance, including improved quality of service provided to customers, reduce aggregate technical, commercial, and collection losses, regularise customers, and increase connections while enhancing the ability to monitor and control network performance and collection processes.
TCN said the loan would also enable diversification of commercial options for Discos to supply their demand, including rehabilitating medium voltage and low voltage distribution lines as well as rehabilitating and increasing transformer capacity, which will improve the ability of Discos to handle sufficient power supply to meet customers demand.
It will also increase the Discos’ potential to access new commercial supply options such as purchasing power directly from generation companies or embedded generators, such as decentralised renewables.
The fund is also for bulk procurement of customer/retail meters and meter data management systems for Discos.
The commission maintained that the fund is for the “financing of bulk procurement of customer and retail level meters and meter data management systems for installation“, and for the transportation of meters to DisCos’ warehouses.
In the public notice, the TCN sought the services of a consultant to coordinate the whole process.
“The main objective of the project coordinator is to lead the DISREP implementation arrangement. The coordinator is to head DISREP-PIU to provide support to the monitoring and oversight function expected of the project,” it said.
This oversight function is aimed at achieving results for monitoring and coordinating the DISREP implementation and providing relevant support to the relevant committees, carrying out its assigned functions for the management of DISREP Financing Plan funds while contributing to the technical assistance component of the DISREP.
“The project coordinator will be the primary person responsible for ensuring that the Bureau of Public Enterprises carries out its responsibilities as the client for the DISREP Project. The PIU manager will ensure that the management, operational, financial, procurement, monitoring, and evaluation responsibilities of the PIU are carried out consistently with the project design and as detailed in the project operations manual.
“The coordinator will also ensure that DISREP activities adhere to all World Bank’s requirements while being responsible for donor relations under the leadership of the BPE energy department,” the notice disclosed.
Interested consultants must have a minimum qualification of a Master’s degree in any of the Electrical Engineering, Economics, Finance or any other relevant field with a minimum of 10 years of professional experience with five years of relevant experience in project management and Nigeria power sector, said TCN.
Familiarity with the energy sector— transmission and distribution utilities— as well as an understanding of the regulatory environment and challenges faced by the energy sector in Nigeria, among others, are also listed as requirements.
“The PIU Project Coordinator will operate at the BPE headquarters in Abuja. The project coordinator will be supervised by the Director General through the office of the Director of Energy at BPE. The coordinator will be supervised by the Director-General (BPE) through the office of the Director of Energy BPE.
“It is expected that the coordinator will submit semi-annual operational reports to the BPE Director of Energy on activities undertaken during the reporting period. The coordinator will liaise with the World Bank and other stakeholders including the Discos participating in the DISREP programme.
“The consultant will be expected to work up to a maximum of 240 working days annually till 30 May 2028. The renewal of the contract will be subject to satisfactory performance as determined by the BPE,” the public notice stated.
The PUNCH recalls that the House of Representatives on Wednesday mandated electricity distribution companies to undertake a N500bn recapitalisation to enhance their financial stability and ensure they can efficiently meet their obligations to the Nigerian public.
