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Establish special courts, public shaming for energy thieves in Nigeria — Tony Elumelu

Tony Elumelu, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Transcorp Group, has urged the Federal Government of Nigeria to establish special courts for prosecuting energy thieves, emphasising the necessity of stringent measures to address the rampant issue of energy theft.

This appeal was made during the 18th Annual General Meeting of Transcorp Group held in Abuja on Monday.

Elumelu highlighted the severe impact of energy theft on the country’s power sector and stressed the fundamental role of reliable power for national development.

He recommended that convicted energy thieves be publicly named and shamed, regardless of their societal status, as a deterrent measure.

“While I note the provisions of the Electricity Act 2023 regarding criminal punishment for energy theft, I recommend the establishment of special courts with powers for summary proceedings to exclusively deal with cases of energy theft.

“There should also be a process of naming and shaming convicted energy thieves, irrespective of their status in society,” Elumelu stated.

Addressing financial challenges in the power sector, Elumelu pointed out the substantial debts owed to power generation companies (GENCOs) by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET).

He explained, “The power sector is designed to function in a cycle that ensures liquidity flow and payment assurance, which in turn sustains the reliable flow of electricity from power generation companies (‘GENCOs’) to end users.

“The distortion in the liquidity flow in the sector is huge and typified by the debt owed to GENCOS by Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (‘NBET’), currently in excess of N2 trillion. We are owed N250 billion as of March 2024.”

Elumelu emphasised that GENCOs, by continuing to generate power despite the significant debts owed to them, are effectively subsidising the sector.

This situation adversely affects their ability to pay gas suppliers, thereby impacting the quantity and reliability of gas supply, as well as investments in power generation.

He urged the Federal Government to expedite actions to address these debts to ensure liquidity and sustain reliable electricity generation.

Additionally, Elumelu called for the full privatisation of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and Distribution Companies (DISCOs).

He stated, “Only a partial privatisation of the power sector has been achieved since the privatisation exercise commenced in 2012.

“As of today, TCN is owned 100% and DISCOs are owned 40% by the Federal Government, which also holds ownership interests in some GENCOs.”

“To enable the sector to be efficiently run by the private sector, I recommend that the Federal Government should come out with a clear timeline for full privatisation of the power sector, starting with the DISCOs and Transmission Company of Nigeria,” Elumelu suggested.

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