By Bassey Udo
The Federal Government has no plans to sell the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) has said.
The privatization agency was reacting to media reports that the government was currently gearing up to put the company for sale.
The TCN is the vital link in the electricity value chain in charge of the transmission of electricity from the generation companies (GENCOs) through the national grid the the distribution companies (DISCos) for onward distribution to consumers across the country.
The company is the transmission arm of the unbundled successor companies of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
In a statement on Sunday in Abuja, the BPE described the report as false and a fabrication by mischief makers to foment trouble.
“The BPE wishes to state that the news is completely false in all its ramifications. The allegation is a mere fabrication by mischief makers aimed at creating room for another needless strike by electricity workers.
“The actions of the Federal Government in the power sector are guided by well-articulated policy documents and extant legislations,” BPE said in a statement by its spokesperson, Ibeh Uzoma Chidi.
Chidi recalled that in 2001 the Federal Government approved the Nigerian Electric Power Policy (NEPP) document, which is which formed the basis for the enactment of the Nigerian Electricity Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA), 2005.
Also, a RoadMap for the Reform of the power sector was issued in 2010 to guide the operations in the power sector.
BPE insists none of these documents envisaged the privatization of TCN, saying that informed the reason a Management Contract was put in place to reorganize and optimize the operations of TCN during the 2013 privatization exercise.
“The Federal Government has not changed its policy nor amended the EPSRA as it relates to TCN.
“The Bureau therefore urges electricity sector workers and indeed the general public to ignore completely this false publication,” BPE said.
