By Bassey Udo
Electricity generation companies in the country have described as baseless and offensive allegations of institutionalised extortion levelled against them by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
The GENCos, under the aegis of the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), in a strongly worded rebuttal, described recent statements credited to the NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, concerning the state of the nation’s power sector as a gross misrepresentation of the facts and a disservice to the ongoing efforts to stabilise the country’s electricity supply industry.
The rebuttal signed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Association, Dr Joy Ogaji, on behalf of the GENCos, quoted the Labour leaders as making scathing allegations about “institutionalised extortion” and a phantom subsidy regime against the GENCos.
But Mrs Ogaji who said the GENCos completely reject the NLC’s wrong characterisation of the sector’s challenges, urged the leadership of the central labour movement to stop victimizing GENCOs.
While acknowledging the frustrations of Nigerians regarding the unstable power supply in the country, Mrs Ogaji said for the NLC to label the legitimate operations of power firms as “robbery” and a “grand deception” was a simplistic and inflammatory narrative that ignores the complex realities of the Nigerian Electricity Supply industry (NESI).
Also, the APGC CEO said the GENCOs strongly refute the insinuation that the proposed government support for the sector was a clandestine plan to “settle the boys” ahead of forthcoming elections.
“Such a claim is baseless, offensive to the professionals working tirelessly in the sector and undermines the critical liquidity interventions needed to keep the lights on,” Mrs Ogaji said.
She challenged the NLC and its sympathisers to identify the robbers and those engaged in the alleged deception, as it certainly could not be the GenCos who are working around the clock to ensure that electricity was generated in spite of the huge challenges associated with the business.
“If we may ask: Who are the boys the NLC is referring to? Is power generation meant for boys? Which election is the NLC talking about? What is the nexus between power generation and election?” Mrs Ogaji asked.
She said the GENCOs were worried that in an attempt to remain relevant, the NLC has forced itself into an area where it lacks the requisite competence to criticize.
“The truth is that the power sector, over a decade after privatisation, remains hamstrung by severe liquidity challenges, which is visibly clear to everyone, but calls for clarification too on the issues,” she said.
The rebuttal, Mrs Ogaji pointed out, was against the backdrop of the news trending in the sector that the GENCos were fraudulent, and therefore required auditors and legal experts to investigate them for requesting their unpaid and accumulated receivables for power/electricity generated and consumed, but not paid for.
Should the NLC and any other institution find it necessary, she said it should be known that the financial books of the GENCos are always ready for any forensic examination that they could be subjected to.
She said it was a fact that the GENCos, who are entitled to about 60% of the electricity market receivables following their invoiced energy bills, face the greatest risk in the electricity supply value chain with an outstanding unpaid invoice of now over N6 trillion.
“The GENCos deserve pity and not castigation, ridicule and victimisation. Trying to smear their image with such baseless and unfounded allegations is not only unfair, but misleading to the Nigerian populace: giving the impression that the sector is not regulated, and that electricity market participants can do as they pleased unchecked”, Mrs Ogaji said.
