The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has expressed disappointment over non-existence of the Power Consumer Assistance Fund (PCAF) by Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC.

Gbajabiamila who was speaking to stakeholders in the power sector and reps members at a meeting on implementation of the proposed two-month free power supply to the poor and vulnerable Nigerians as part of the stimulus package aimed at alleviating the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, noted that the Fund would have served the purpose it was meant for, at this point, if it were in existence.

After being informed that the fund has not been set up, the Speaker citing Section 83 of the Electricity Power Sector Act said, “We have broken the law because the law mandated it; it is not optional. It is the Act that mandated its establishment.

“If that had been set up, way back, perhaps we would have had the fund with which to assist this proposal. This is the kind of time that this fund was anticipating.

“I think we should look into setting up this fund because we don’t know when next this kind of issue may come up”.

In his remarks, the Minister of Power, Mamman, said the Executive arm is ready to contribute its part to the success of the proposal, saying, “We will give all the support as well as technical advice toward the realization of this objective. We are ready whenever our input is needed”.

On his part, the NNPC GMD, Kyari, who noted that the issue of gas supply to the GenCos is critical to power supply in the country, said the proposal is workable if the issue of who is to carry the burden of cost and margins in the supply value chain is settled and agreed on by all the parties.

Saying that note had to be taken of the actual beneficiaries of the two-month free supply palliative because not every Nigerian falls into the category of the poorest, Kyari pointed out that the existence of the industrial sector should be of concern at the end of the crisis period.

Kyari said though 100 per cent uninterrupted power supply is impossible because not enough is generated due to the COVID-19 crisis, he assured that gas supply would not be an issue, as 100 per cent supply is guaranteed once the debt issue is addressed.

The DisCos assured that they can deliver the mandate as soon as all the details were worked out and agreed on.

At the meeting were the Minister of Power, Mamman Sale; the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), James Momoh; Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari; Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), Marilyn Amobi, as well as representatives of Distribution Companies.

Also at the meeting were the Leader of the House, Alhassan Ado Doguwa; Chief Whip, Rep. Mohammed Tahir Monguno; Deputy Leader, Rep. Peter Akpatason; Deputy Chief Whip, Rep. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha; Minority Leader, Rep. Ndudi Elumelu, and the Chairman, House Committee on Power, Rep. Magaji Da’u Aliyu, among others.