Fashola tasks power investors to strengthen service delivery
… reiterates FG commitment to incremental power
Babatunde Fashola, minister of power, works and housing, has urged investors in the power sector to urgently strengthen the process of effective service delivery to serve electricity customers if they hope to improve their revenue base.
Fashola, while speaking at the 11th Monthly Power Sector and Stakeholder Meeting held in Ikeja West Transmission Station, Ipaja, Lagos, said, “Power sector investors must use this year to tell their staff that without our customers, they don’t have a job, and if you are not in a good mood, don’t pick the telephone.”
According to Fashola, “Without the customers and the consumers there is no business, and I think that all of us in the public and private sector must understand that. If you don’t have the skin and the patient to serve, leave. It is a thankless job, but it is no good undertaking to serve.”
The minister further observed that the ministry of power was aware of investors’ challenges as efforts were being put in place to address them, saying investors much be willing to carry some share of burden.
He further reiterated that the Federal Government was committed to the process of the right stakeholders engagement to ensure incremental power to the citizens.
“I am conscious of the challenges operators in the sector face. My team and I are working as hard as we can to make the environment more responsive to you, and as I have said and will repeat that as pioneers you will carry some burden.
“You will have to sacrifice perhaps more than what you have done, but I am optimistic that it will get better. I am optimistic that we can win together and we can win for the Nigeria people,” the minister said.
On the issue of liquidity, the minister assured operators in the sector that work had commenced with development, local and international partners to resolve the issue.
He however noted that these partners would have shown commitment and inspiring appetite to play in this market, and we are trying to see what we can do together in order to bring the liquidity issues under some control and from there eventually solve it.
“These are matters the regulator NERC will have to deal with, the bulk trader NBET, who is in the house, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Petroleum in terms of gas and all the players how they dove tail into one another,” he said.
Anthony Yoydeiwei, managing director, Ikeja Electric, while reading the communiqué at the end of the stakeholders meeting, said the NNPC had promised to repair all damaged pipelines to ensure the release of stranded gas.
He said plans were already in place to switch on the Ikot Ekpene Switch Station to help boost the power sector.