Power generation companies have urged the Federal Government and the Nigerian Independent System Operator to name, arrest, and prosecute individuals and companies stealing electricity along the Ikorodu-Sagamu corridor.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Power Generation Companies, Joy Ogaji, stated this on Thursday while reacting to a report that some large customers were stealing up to 180 megawatts of electricity from the grid in Lagos and Ogun states.
The PUNCH reports that NISO raised the alarm over what it described as massive electricity theft on the Ikorodu-Sagamu transmission corridor spanning Lagos and Ogun states, saying about 180MW of power is being lost to energy theft perpetrated by large customers.
The Managing Director of NISO, Abdu Mohammed Bello, disclosed this during a stakeholders’ meeting held recently in Lagos with distribution companies, generation companies, eligible customers, and large customers connected to the Ikorodu-Sagamu 132kV double-circuit transmission lines.
Bello said investigations by the system operator uncovered widespread electricity theft and meter manipulation along the transmission corridor, with some large customers connected to the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company and the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company implicated.
Speaking, Ogaji expressed concern that some organisations were stealing electricity while investors in the power sector battled liquidity crises daily.
While commending NISO for the investigation, which revealed that up to 180MW of electricity is being used without payment along the Sagamu-Ikorodu transmission corridor, Ogaji charged the authorities to ensure those behind the theft face the law.
She requested that they be disconnected from the grid, prosecuted, and blacklisted. “I congratulate NISO for this revelation and encourage them to take the necessary actions. The first step is for NISO to disconnect the thieves, publish their details, and penalise them by ensuring they refund all accrued funds due to the theft plus interest. NISO should also blacklist them,” she said.
Ogaji valued the electricity stolen at N9.7bn in a month and N111bn in 12 years, saying, “How can we be struggling and some people are living large at our expense? Investors are struggling, but those stealing the electricity are still out there. Who knows how many others are hidden?”
Our correspondent observed that reports of the 180MW theft generated heated reactions from stakeholders in the power sector on Tuesday. “This must not be swept under the carpet. We want to see the end of this,” some stakeholders said in a social media group.
According to them, the industry should now focus on bulk consumers who are the major causes of the losses in the power sector. “Is it not better to catch the thieves, take them to court, and make them pay than just coming out to say they are stealing without holding anyone responsible?” a stakeholder asked, wondering why no one had been arrested over the theft.
Analysts argued that institutional or organised theft in the power sector is greater than the theft resulting from residential consumers bypassing meters. They added that now that “the big thieves are known”, the sector can focus on them and make significant progress in reducing losses.
According to the NISO boss, the level of losses recorded on the Ikorodu-Sagamu line was alarming and had become a major threat to grid stability and market revenues.
“We discovered that the Ikorodu-Sagamu 132kV double-circuit line has a lot of very serious theft issues. The magnitude of the thefts is unimaginable. The theft along that line is close to 180MW. So you can imagine losing 180MW, which is almost equivalent to the daily allocation of Jos Electricity Distribution Company,” Bello said.
Bello noted that the Ikorodu-Sagamu corridor was being used as a pilot scheme for a broader crackdown on electricity theft across the national grid. “We have taken the Ikorodu-Sagamu line as a pilot project because it’s not only that corridor that is having that kind of challenge. Other corridors, too, will be dealt with as soon as we are able to deal with this. We have a standard model framework that we’re going to use to address these steps,” he added.
To curb the losses, Bello said NISO had issued fresh directives to GenCos, DisCos, and eligible customers. According to him, the directives include strict compliance with minimum off-take requirements, meter classification rules, and mandatory recalibration of metering instruments by the Transmission Company of Nigeria.
The NISO chief also ordered the compulsory installation of check meters and dedicated current and voltage transformers at all interface points. Bello warned that erring customers would face energy reconstruction, back-billing, financial penalties, and possible disconnection from the national grid.
“If we discover a theft by any customer, we will make sure that we reconstruct and back-bill for a period of time so that the customer will pay for the losses we incurred over that period of time. And then, we will also impose financial penalties on such erring customers. For persistent offenders, we shall disconnect them from the grid or suspend them from the market, and they shall undergo further regulatory sanctions as determined by the regulators,” he said.
He added that NISO would immediately set up a joint task force comprising the system operator, TCN, and security agencies to monitor the corridor and enforce compliance.
