Olusola Bello
Quest Electricity Nigeria Ltd has paid N19 billion to acquire Yola Electricity Distribution Company (YEDC), the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE) has said.
The Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE)’s Director General, Alex Okoh, in a statement issued on Monday by Amina Othman, the Head, Public Communications of BPE, said the company would invest N28 billion to transform the Distribution Company (DisCo) within two years.
He made the remarks at the signing ceremony of the Share Sale and Purchase Agreement (SSPA), for the privatisation of YEDC.
According to him, it was expected that the investment would deliver results within a five-year period and that the results included reduction in Aggregate Technical, Commercial and Collections (ATC&C) losses from the current level of 80 percent, which was the highest in the industry, to 29 percent which translated to a 51 percent loss reduction.
The customer base of the company it was stated increased from 396,650 to 596,650, a 50 percent growth and a significant increase in energy supplied from 1,305 Gigawatt Hours (GWh), to 1,714GWh.
Adamu Mele, Chairman of Quest Electricity, acknowledged the insecurity in the company’s area of franchise, but assured that it would work round it to transform the distribution company within a short time through infrastructure upgrade.
BPE said following the approval of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) for the privatisation of YEDC and the conclusion of the bidding process, Quest Electricity emerged the preferred bidder, with N19bn bid price.