Eleven Electricity Distribution Companies, (DISCOs) under the aegis of Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), have affirmed that they will support the move to supply free electricity to all consumers within their network in the next two month.
The DISCOs stated that this will be a palliative measure to bring succour to Nigerians in the face of COVID-19 induced period.
It would be recalled that the House of Representatives had disclosed its consideration of a fresh Stimulus Bill that will allow Nigerians to enjoy electricity supply for two months without any charge.
Confirming this, the Executive Director of Research and Advocacy at ANED, Barrister Sunday Oduntan, said the decision was in recognition of the challenging effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on the economic and daily lives of the customers.
Oduntan, who is also the spokesman for the DisCos, said;
We are also completely aligned with the plans to ensure palliative measures, including free electricity supply to all Nigerians for two months, to make life easier, during the lockdown period. Details of implementation to come soon.
The spokesman stated that the initiative is a fulfilment of the DisCos’ commitments to the nation to mitigate the hardships that are currently being experienced by their customers and citizens of Nigerian.
He added that;
We recognise the challenging effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the economic and daily lives of our customers.
In fulfilment of our commitments to the nation, we hereby align ourselves with the efforts of the National Assembly and the Federal Executive Council to mitigate the hardships that are currently faced by our customers and other citizens all over the country.
The DisCos commended the Executive arm and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) for their initiative, adding that they are committed to working with them to ensure more efficient power supply within the difficult period.
The power firms also reiterated their commitments to improving service delivery to the nation during this COVID-19 pandemic period which will encourage people to stay at home.
