The World Bank has approved the Federal Government $500m loan application to bolster Nigeria’s electricity distribution sector, the Bureau of Public Enterprises announced on Thursday.
The Bureau of Public Enterprises announced that the loan has been secured to help tackle the many challenges confronting Discos in the country.
In a statement released it reads thus: “In a strategic move to address the identified gaps in the electricity distribution companies, the Federal Government of Nigeria has secured a $500m loan from the World Bank,” BPE stated in a statement issued in Abuja by the Head of Public Communication, Amina Othman.
It further stated that “Approved on February 4, 2021, by the World Bank board of directors, this funding supports the Nigerian Distribution Sector Recovery Programme aimed at improving the financial and technical performance of the Discos.
“The DISREP is designed to enhance the financial and technical operations of the Discos through capital investment and the financing of key components of their Performance Improvement Plans, which have been approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission.”
The key areas stated by the Bureau consist of: improvement include bulk procurement of customer/retail metres and metre data management systems, implementation of a Data Aggregation Platform, and strengthening governance and transparency within the Discos.
