The Association of Power Generation Companies has cried out over outstanding unpaid invoices for electricity generated and supplied to the national grid to the tune of N6 trillion.
The power generation companies, in a statement by the Chief Executive Officer, Joy Ogaji, in reaction to recent comments by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), accused labour of peddling a “simplistic and inflammatory narrative” that ignored the structural challenges facing the industry.
The association said the growing debt burden, driven by revenue shortfalls and weak remittances across the electricity value chain, has significantly strained the financial capacity of generation companies to invest in maintenance, fuel procurement, and expansion.
The power generation companies also strongly rejected allegations by the Nigeria Labour Congress that electricity firms were engaged in “institutionalised extortion,” insisting that the claims misrepresent the deep-rooted liquidity crisis threatening the country’s power sector.
“To label the legitimate operations of power firms as robbery and a grand deception is a misrepresentation of the facts and a disservice to the ongoing efforts to stabilise Nigeria’s electricity supply industry,” Ogaji stated, adding that the allegations by labour undermine ongoing efforts by stakeholders to resolve the liquidity crisis and ensure a stable electricity supply.
“The truth is that the power sector, over a decade after privatisation, remains hamstrung by severe liquidity challenges. It is a fact that GenCos, who are entitled to about 60 per cent of the market receivables following their invoiced energy bills, face the greatest risk in the electricity value chain, with outstanding unpaid invoices now over six trillion (N6tn) naira,” the statement added.
