The Central Bank of Nigeria in a bid to resolve the liquidity
challenges in the power sector on Monday released a total loan of
N18.26bn to five power firms.
The amount which was given at an interest rate of ten per cent,
with a repayment period of ten years, is part of the N213bn Nigerian
Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility.
A total of three power generation companies and two distribution
companies had their respective Chief Executive Officers in attendance
during the disbursement.
The power distribution firms that got the N18.26bn loan are the
Ibadan Distribution Electricity Distribution Plc which received the
highest amount of N11.36bn; while Eko Electricity Distribution Plc
followed with N5.16bn.
For the generation companies, Jebba Hydroelectric Plc received the
highest chunk of N816.83m while Kainji Hydroelectric Plc and Shiroro
Hydroelectric Plc followed with N678.85m and N234.81m respectively.
The disbursement of the loan is a follow up to the Memorandum of
Understanding which was signed last December between the apex bank,
participating Deposit Money Banks and the Nigerian Electricity
Regulatory Commission.
The December agreement was to prepare Deposit Money Banks to
channel the funds towards de-risking the value chain in the electricity
supply market.
Speaking at the loan disbursement ceremony which was held at the
headquarters of the apex bank in Abuja, the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin
Emefiele described the facility as a major initiative to reset the
economics of the power sector.
He urged the firms to utilise the funds in upgrading their power
infrastructure and warned them against diverting the loan for other
operational activities not contained in the loan agreement.
No comments:
Post a Comment