TheCable

The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc allocated N7,620,840,000 for the “senate” in its 2021 budget, TheCable has discovered in its budget analysis.

Curiously, NBET — the body that buys power from the generating companies (GenCos) and sells to the distribution companies (DisCos) — has been unable to settle the invoices of the GenCos.

A key operational and financial data of the industry indicates that between January 2019 and September 2020, NBET had a payment shortfall of N865 billion to GenCos.

For instance, the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Plc (NDPHC) has been approaching the ministry of finance to make the payments for gas supplies from Accugas Ltd because of NBET’s liquidity crisis.

It is still unclear what NBET plans to do with the “senate” that will cost nearly N8 billion.

Nnaemeka Ewelukwa, NBET’s chief executive officer, did not respond to calls and messages from TheCable to clarify the curious items in the budget, including the N630 million budget to buy transformers — which is not part of its core mandate.

NBET also has a budget for “electrifying communities across the country” — a mandate of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), the federal agency tasked with the electrification of rural and unserved communities.

Unable to fulfil its core mandate, the bulk trader has several curious provisions in its approved budget, fuelling speculations of the real purpose

In the budget, the NBET said it is going to provide 500kva transformers for “Uwan and selected communities in various states” at the cost of N150 million.

It also plans to supply and install transformers in selected areas of Gombe North senatorial district at the cost of N100 million.

NBET also got approval to spend N50 million on provision of 500kva/11 and 300kva/11 at different locations in Dawakintofa/Rimin Gado/Tofa, Kano state at the cost of N50 million.

Other items approved for NBET, which are outside the agency’s mandate, include electrification of Nasarawa Toto, North Central zone at the cost of N30 million and electrification of Gudus, Nyalun, Kunkyam, Yuli and other selected communities in Plateau state at the tune of N300 million.

Curiously, a tiny item in the budget without a code number was tagged “Senate 5%” with a whopping sum of N7,620,840,000 approved for it.

TheCable understands that the agency has written to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) requesting approvals to award the contracts.