ANED confirms current shortfall in power industry is N809.8bn

The Executive Director of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Mr Sunday Oduntan, while briefing newsmen in Abuja  on Thursday disclosed that the current shortfall in the power industry is N809.8bn, Leadership reports.

The executive who decried the shortfall being recorded in the distribution subsector alone as very worrisome and capable or crippling the sector, said the foremost cause of the crisis is the persistent increase in exchange rate after the December, 2015 agreed rate of N197 to $1.

According to him, the GenCos who are made to buy gas from the suppliers in US dollars tender their invoice to the DisCos to pay at the prevailing value of ForEx and charge their tariffs based on the fixed exchange rate, thus leading to the shortfall.

Oduntan, who blamed the crisis on inconsistency and ineptitude on the part of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), called on government to intervene and help out by finding last solution to the problem of shortfall in the sector.