THE Senate on Wednesday expressed concern over the monthly payment of $30 million by the Federal Government for power.
It said the payment had become statutory because of the Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) signed by the Federal Government with AZURA and ACU gas plants.
The Red Chamber said it plans to engage the services of local and international lawyers to advise it on how to either review or renegotiate the agreement (SPA) that compels the government to pay power not necessarily consumed by Nigerians.
According to the Senate, the legal advice became necessary because the terms of agreement stipulates that about $1 billion will automatically be deducted from the nation’s foreign reserves if there is any breach is against the country’s interest.
The Senate also urged the Federal Government to buy meters for unmetered Nigerians. The procurement will cost the government between N227 billion to N354 billion.
These were some of the resolutions taken by the Senate following its consideration of the report of its Roundtable on “Addressing Nigeria’s Power Problems”.
The report was presented by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Gabriel Suswam.
Suswam told his colleagues that Nigeria stands to lose about $1 billion from its foreign reserves if there is any breach of the agreement it signed between 2016 and 2017 on the gas supply issue.
He told reporters after the plenary session: “Now the second one, which is the one that became very controversial was that certain agreements were signed. It is not the fault of the plants, that is AZURA and ACU gas.
“Pay or take agreements are something that is universal in the power sector when you are going into such ventures and so it is not anything that is fraudulent, but just that the government ordinarily shouldn’t have signed those agreements.
“Because what it means is this; for instance, Azura is a power plant that is supposed to produce or generate 450 megawatts and so what we signed is that even if we are unable to take that 450 megawatts, we will stull pay full price for that 450 megawatts. And that is what has been happening. We call those agreements take or pay.
“The same thing for ACU gas. This is a gas agreement that has been signed with the Calabar power plant. It is the same mode of agreement and they come with RPG which is guaranteed by the World Bank.
“For instance in Azura, they have about three generators, now if only one is producing, it is not their fault. It is because TCN (Transmission Company of Nigeria) cannot evacuate the power. It is not their fault, they are generating they are ready to give power unfortunately we signed that agreement without being prepared and so if they can only give 100 megawatts we will pay for the full 450 megawatts.
“The same thing goes for ACU gas. There was an agreement for them to supply gas to the Calabar plant and if the gas to supply to three generators, if they are only able to take only one we will still keep paying full amount as if the three were working.

Source: The Nation Newspaper

That's corruption that Buhari brought to the power sector ..the govt can't give people free meters but will instead pay 30 million dollars monthly to Powers stations for any power the DISCOS reject while Nigerians are looking for Electricity...This is the most absurd form of Corruption I have ever seen in my life ..Why pay 30 million dollars a month for any wasted electricity ? Buhari is the Devil

uhmm these people want to shock oga presido again ooo

Even PSG or ManCity didn't splash money like our politicians are doing? A day will come where we will collapse like Zimbabwe. A govt will just wake up and borrow incessantly, only to waste it in the pockets of fraudsters who use government official plate numbers.

I have said in a platform and I will continue to say it. Since Mr. President inaugurated the presidential power reform, the vice president Osinbajo who chairs the Committee has not signed any deal and it is worthy of note that the only deal that was signed is the Siemens which was signed by the President Buahri

SarkinYarki:
That's corruption that Buhari brought to the power sector ..the govt can't give people free meters but will instead pay 30 million dollars monthly to Powers stations for any power the DISCOS reject while Nigerians are looking for Electricity...This is the most absurd form of Corruption I have ever seen in my life ..Why pay 30 million dollars a month for any wasted electricity ? Buhari is the Devil

Which corruption are you talking about , could you remember that PDP put us into this mess

Infact I'm tired � of these fake peddlers, you are the great enemy of this government .The only thing that was signed is the Siemens deal and it was done by the President

SarkinYarki:
That's corruption that Buhari brought to the power sector ..the govt can't give people free meters but will instead pay 30 million dollars monthly to Powers stations for any power the DISCOS reject while Nigerians are looking for Electricity...This is the most absurd form of Corruption I have ever seen in my life ..Why pay 30 million dollars a month for any wasted electricity ? Buhari is the Devil

You need to take a copy of the said agreement and read over and over again. We all want investors to invest in the power sector but we are not ready to pay the price, if blames should be aportioned at all, the it should go to the DISCOs who have over the years refused to expand their distribution networks

okefrancis:

Which corruption are you talking about , could you remember that PDP put us into this mess

Buhari govt was the one that started paying GENCOS for any power the DISCOS reject

maybanks:


You need to take a copy of the said agreement and read over and over again. We all want investors to invest in the power sector but we are not ready to pay the price, if blames should be aportioned at all, the it should go to the DISCOs who have over the years refused to expand their distribution networks

I know the problem in the power sector and it's simply allowing the thieving DISCOS to keep selling darkness to Nigerians and instead of the useless govt to force them to accept 90 percent of what the GENCOS generate the govt is instead paying the GENCOS 30 million dollars a month to waste Electricity Nigerians are looking for ... Do you know what 30 million dollars a month pumped into distro will do ?