Lucky Obukohwo Reporting
Electricity generation companies (GenCos) have voiced out on the huge debts owed the sector, declaring it to be over staggering N6 trillion.
Speaking on the platform of the Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC), the firms shed light on the recent allegations by the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) accusing them of extortion.
“GenCos deserve pity and not castigation, ridicule and victimisation. Trying to smear their image with such baseless and unfounded allegations is not only unfair but misleading to the Nigerian populace: giving the impression that the sector is not regulated, and that electricity market participants can do as they please,” the APGC stated.
The association maintained that GenCos are entitled to roughly 60 per cent of market receivables from invoiced energy bills, yet despite this, they face immense financial risks in the electricity value chain.
The Chief Executive Officer of APGC, Dr. Joy Ogaji, called the NLC’s claims “baseless” and “offensive to the professionals working tirelessly in the sector.” She said the allegations undermine vital liquidity interventions aimed at keeping Nigeria’s power supply operational.
“It may be necessary for the NLC and its co-travellers to identify the robbers and those engaged in the deception. But it certainly cannot be the GenCos who are working round the clock to ensure that electricity is generated in spite of the huge challenges associated with the business,” Ogaji noted.
The APGC further dismissed insinuations that government support for the sector is a covert effort to “settle the boys” ahead of elections, reiterating that such claims distort public perception and weaken confidence in critical interventions designed to stabilize power supply.
Ogaji highlighted that the power sector, even more than a decade after privatisation, continues to grapple with severe liquidity constraints, a reality visible to all but often misrepresented in public discourse.
“The truth is that the power sector, over a decade after privatisation, remains hamstrung by severe liquidity challenges, which is visibly clear to everyone but calls for clarification too on the issues,” she said.
