DisCos’ group chides NERC, protects members’ $1.4bn assets

The Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED) has chided the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for discouraging its activities, with a total of $1.4 billion investment of the Distribution Companies (DisCos).
In a statement by ANED Chief Executive Officer Azu Obiaya, yesterday, the group which has existed for three years in the power sector said its activities are guaranteed by Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria under the right of association
ANED said it represents the DisCos’ 22,000-employee workforce, “the investors who have sunk more than $1.4 billion in the acquisition and operations of the DisCos to date, and our customers who seek to enjoy the benefits of the best practices that result from the interaction of our members under the ANED umbrella.”
NERC had in a communiqué issued after a meeting with the DisCos on August 27, 2018 said ANED activities were discouraged and that the association should not interfere with policy directives or regulatory pronouncements made by the minister of power or the commission.
They listed other associations in the sector to include the Association of Power Generating Companies (APGC), Nigerian Gas Association (NGA) and National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE).
The statement clarified that ANED’s expression or promotion of a viewpoint that is contrary to that of an established regulation or policy should not be construed as ‘interference’, particularly, in the context of the workings of an industry with multiple stakeholder interests.
ANED asked NERC to focus on addressing widening tariff gap that hindered DisCos from performing their obligations, non-implementation of five tariff reviews and checking N435.7 billion of under-recovered revenue, among others.