Why government can’t provide free electricity to Nigerians —TCN

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) Thursday rejected claims the Federal Government was providing free electricity to Nigerians to cushion the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on the citizens.

The Managing Director of TCN, Mr. Usman Mohammed, who disclosed this in a chat with journalists in Abuja, said the government does not own all the units in the power sector and therefore cannot provide free electricity to Nigerians.

The federal government had said a few weeks ago it had opened discussions with the electricity distribution companies (DisCos) on the possibility of providing two months free power supply to Nigerians to cushion the effect of the lockdown imposed on the citizens following the outbreak of coronavirus in the country.

Mohammed said: “There is also the information that power is going to be free, that is going to affect us because some customers who get this information may not likely pay. The federal government cannot make power free because it does not own the power.

“Apart from the transmission (TCN) which is just the transporter of electricity that belongs to the Federal Government, all the other chains are in private hands.

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“As at now that the federal government is providing subsidy, and that is not coming enough as we still have huge unpaid bills.”

The TCN chief said electricity supply significantly improved in the first 14 days of the lockdown across Lagos, Ogun, and Abuja.

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