The Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc gives 23 power generation companies N152.974 billion in 2017

THE Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc, NBET, has disclosed that it disbursed a total of N152.974 billion to 23 power generation companies, Gencos, in the first seven months of 2017. This disbursement represents 21.6 percent of the N701 billion payment support facility provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for the power sector.

In a document obtained by reporters in Abuja, NBET revealed that other payments made to the Gencos from what it collected from the market within the seven-month period, amounted to N83.351 billion. The document further showed that aggregate payments from the CBN facility and market collections to the Gencos within the period totalled N236.353 billion.

This represented about 80 percent of the generating company’s invoices within the payment cycle and in line with the NBET’s strategy of paying the Gencos’ monthly invoices in this regards. A breakdown of the payment details showed that all the generating companies were paid within the period, while about eight out of the 10 power plants built under the National Integrated Power Projects, NIPPs, and managed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited, NDPHC, were equally paid the value on their invoices.

The document stated that in January, the NBET paid the Gencos N17.798 billion from the CBN facility and N10.261 billion from the market collection to bring its total payment for the month to N28.063 billion. In February, it paid N19.419 billion of CBN facility and N12.694 billion of market remittance to the Gencos to make it N32.113 billion for the month; and subsequently remitted in the March payment cycle to the Gencos a total of N35.504 billion which included N22.716 billion from the CBN facility and N12.787 billion from the market.

In April, N33.136 billion was paid to the Gencos, from which N20.414 billion and N12.723 billion were from the CBN facility and market collections; while May payments, amounted to N22.819 billion (CBN facility) and N12.768 billion (market collections), totalling, N35.587billion, and June was N35.717 billion ( N24.424 billion (CBN facility) and N11.293 billion (market collections) in July, the NBET paid the Gencos a total of N36.209 billion, inclusive of N25.383 billion, from the CBN facility and N10.825 billion, collected from the market.

In March 2017, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved that the CBN guarantee payments by the NBET to Gencos for electricity they generate through the N701 billion facility. The NBET has 10 years to liquidate the loan to the CBN.

The government memo, which stated that the NBET would administer the loan, which has a two-year moratorium and five percent annual interest rate, over a period of two years. NBET has extended the execution window for the power purchase agreements, PPA, it signed for the 14 pioneer utility-scale solar plants by six months, this will enable promoters of the projects to meet up with the condition precedents in their PPAs.

The PPAs were first signed in July 2016 between the promoters and Nigeria’s federal government, their tenure were however renewed in July 2017 after they expired and made to last for six months which again expired in January 2018. Collectively, the 14 solar power projects would when completed, generate 1,125 megawatts (MW) of solar electricity to augment the country’s electricity generation capacity.

NBET in 2017 also announced that the promoters of the solar IPPs had posted their development securities of $20,000 per megawatt to it via letters of credit. The securities, it explained then, were to guarantee that the IPPs would achieve financial closure by the targeted closing dates.

– Feb. 2, 2018 @ 16:42 GMT |