Stop DISCOs From Shifting Cost Of Electricity Infrastructure To Customers – Ortom Urges FG

…Commends Buhari for giving attention to power sector

Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State on Tuesday urged the Federal Government the Ministry Ministry of Power to stop Distribution Companies (DISCOs), from shifting the cost of procuring electricity infrastructure to customers.

He however commended President Muhammadu Buhari for giving attention to the power sector, saying that the Federal Government can do more to improve the power generation of Nigeria.

The Governor noted that DISCOs as essential service providers, collect money from customers in form of bills thus, should use same to procure and or repair transformers and other electrical infrastructure for use by customers instead of leaving the responsibility to the end users.

The Governor particularly commended the improvement the Federal Ministry of Power has achieved in the provision of electricity, describing it as an opportunity for the Minister to write his name in gold.

Ortom, who gave the commendation when he received in audience at the Benue Peoples House, Makurdi, the Minister of Power, Engineer Abubakar Aliyu, said his administration remains committed to supporting federal projects especially those that bother on harnessing economic potentials of the state.

He said that it was in the light of this that he intervened for the transmission lines to pass through communities requesting for compensation to the substation.

The Governor said he was enlightened given the details of what the federal government was doing in the power sector in the state.

He said; “I am personally enlightened and this is commendable. When there is electricity, there will be massive recruitment in industries.”

The Governor advocated for synergy between the Federal, States and Local Government Councils towards funding of the power sector and assured that his administration is ready to support other initiatives to boost the improvement of the power sector in the state, saying; “electricity is key to industrilisation”.

Ortom noted that since the inception of the Buhari-led administration in 2015, he had identified power and security as priority areas to encourage local and foreign investment in the economy.

He particularly acknowledged the co-operation of the senator representing Benue North East and chairman Senate Committee on Power, Senator Gabriel Suswam for the progress recorded in the sector.

Earlier, the Minister of Power, Mr Abubakar Aliyu he was in the state to inspect work on the Yandev Power Substation, a trajectory of Kashimbila Power Generation Dam.

Aliyu said the first phase of the work which is upgrading of the substation has been completed and will be able to generate 40 Megawatts of electricity to boost power supply in parts of the state.

He also said that the phase two of the project which has reached 40 percent was to carry the transmission lines from Yandev to Makurdi and other parts of the state.

The minister who was accompanied by the Minister of State for Power, Goody Agba and other officials said the project was part of efforts of the Federal Government to shore up power generation and distribution in the country.

Aliyu further said that the upgrading and strengthening of the national grid has reduced system collapse to the barest minimum.