The Federal Government is owing owners of Power Generating Companies (GenCos) a whopping N4 trillion in debts.
The debts are the arrears which if the government ‘s subsidy on the generation segment of the power chain.
GenCo owners say the huge debt profile is at the heart of the myriad ailments affecting the power firms and impeding their strive for efficiency.
But now, the Federal Government appears set to resolve the debt crisis.
The Minister of Power,
Adebayo Adelabu, on Sunday, said a meeting had been scheduled between President Bola Tinubu and the leadership of the power generation companies (GenCos) over the N4 trillion debt.
He hinted Nigerians of the prospect of an even higher power tariff regime.
According to him, the meeting was to fund a common ground in his to settle the debt owed the GenCo operators.
A statement to this effect in Abuja on Sunday but the Special Adviser on Strategic Communications and Media Relations, Bolaji Tunji, said the Federal Government would, soon after the meeting, offset a significant portion of the debt profile.
Thereafter, he added, it would clear the balance using financial instruments, including promissory notes.
The Minister told Nigerians to prepare to pay higher electricity tariffs once subsidy was fully removed in the power sector.
The Minister warned of the probable collapse of the power sector if swift interventions were not made timely.
Acknowledging the government’s own role in the sector’s challenges, Mr Adelabu pledged not only to clear the debt backlog but also to implement structural reforms that would remove the avoidable knots in the sector.
