Senate Committee scores BEDC management high

By Odunewu Segun

As the Senate Committee on Privatization and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) crisscross the power sector to assess the industry and get acquainted with its numerous problems, the Management of Benin Electricity Distribution Plc. (BEDC) has been commended for being innovative and well-run in spite of industry challenges.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ben Murray Bruce gave the commendation when he led members of the committee and a team from the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) on a fact-finding visit to BEDC recently.

Senator Bruce who acknowledged the myriad of challenges facing the power sector observed that BEDC under the leadership of Mrs. Funke Osibodu, BEDC had done well since it came on board especially in the areas of community relations, payment platforms and customer services.

“We have seen the  excitement of staff at the training programmes of BEDC, an enabling environment and air of camaraderie among management staff, which we have not seen in other places, which goes to show that the company is  well-run, and we had expected no less a good environment given the pedigree and antecedents of your CEO”, Senator Bruce remarked.

The  Chairman Senate Committee  said  he was familiar with some of the problems of the industry but pointed out that he was surprised about how the industry was being owed about N900billion even when power generation was very low, saying that he was also in the know that federal government was yet to fully honour its obligations to Discos and that they could not collect tariff at prevailing market rate due to high foreign exchange rate and the recession, but was more interested in what could be done to solve the problems.

Earlier, Managing Director/Chief Executive of BEDC, Mrs. Funke Osibodu had enumerated series of challenges confronting Discos, stressing the need for the committee to impress it on federal government to dollarize the Naira price for gas; the raw material for electricity production for the power sector and also subsidize tariff for lower class residential customers in like manner the Indian government did for its electricity companies.

Mrs. Osibodu equally told the Committee that it was important federal government treated existing shortfall in the industry revenue basket as Regulatory Asset Bond (RAB) backed by legislative cover and recognized by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

She affirmed that Discos lose 50% of their monthly bill to non-payment by customers, adding that no enough power was generated, in addition to system instability, saying that this informed BEDC’s decision to implement regimented load shedding to enable customers plan their activities along power availability schedule, adding “there is need for correct messaging aligned with assisting the power sector”.