Olusola  Bello

The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc has made a payment of over N42 billion to power generation companies (Gencos) for their services of supplying electricity to the national grid in November 2021.

According to an industry source, the payment was for both market receipts and supplementary from distribution companies (Discos) made to NBET.

NBET has continued to ensure timely payments to Gencos for energy generated and distributed to end-users via the grid despite the average market performance of Discos.

When contacted on the payment, the NBET Head of Corporate Communications, Ms. Henrietta Ighomrore, confirmed that it was made following its internal payment committee meetings and approval by the management.

NBET has continued to fulfill its mandate in ensuring an efficient and effective transactions environment for the bulk purchase and resale of power in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

So far the NBET has paid an average of N68 billion worth of electricity via the grid, while ensuring that Gencos received an average minimum settlement of 85 percent of generation invoices

An analysis of the settlement circle indicates that From  January – June 2021  NBET has settled all Gencos up to about 99 percent of generation invoices for grid distributed electricity through the NBET Payment Assurance Facility (PAF) and market receipts.

According to the analysis, Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC)  top the list of performing Disco for the November 2021 cycle with a performance rating of 93 percent of its Minimum Remittance Order (MRO).

The least performers for the cycle under review were Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO) with both Discos performing below 20 percent of the MRO.

The increase, timeliness and consistency in payments to the Gencos ensured stability of the national grid and sustained power generation across the country. of power delivered to the grid has been on a steady increase as Gencos can leverage payments to third parties and ensure maintenance of their plants.

Discos andGencos payments are based on the electricity market settlement statement.

Market Settlement Statement are issued in arrears by the Market Operator (MO) following a period of 28 days after a cycle.

The MO takes the readings of the various meters via the grid network to determine the quantum of electricity supplied to the grid by each genco into the national pool.

The electricity is then wheeled via the transmission network operated by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to the Discos and subsequently to the end-users.

The settlement statement forms the basis of invoicing and processing of payments to the Gencos.