Federal Government has set aside a total of N327 billion in the 2022 Budget to offset the electricity tariff shortfall incurred by the Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) who are not paying electricity bills.
While N27 billion goes to the MDAs, N300 billion would be used to settle other tariff indebtedness which the distribution companies (DisCos) incurred because of their inefficiency.
Speaking at a 2022 Budget Breakdown, organised by the Ministry of Finance Budget and National Planning, at the weekend, in Abuja, the Director General of Budget Office, Mr Ben Akabueze, said that the government is a shareholder in the DisCos but the government has not started collecting dividends from them.
“The government is a shareholder in the companies. But as a shareholder, you don’t collect part of the revenues the company collects. We share in the profit of the company when the company makes a profit and declares a dividend.
So, the billings of DisCos are not part of government revenues. “On the contrary, because the electricity tariff that we all pay does not cover the cost of producing the power, there is a shortfall which the government has to incur on behalf of the citizens. [THESUN]
