The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) on Tuesday said it plans to privatise 91 state-owned enterprises as part of efforts to boost efficiency, generate revenue, and create jobs.
Director General Ayodeji Gbeleyi told reporters in Abuja that the agency is also preparing to list two electricity distribution companies (DisCos) and one generation company (GenCo) on the Nigerian Stock Exchange through initial public offerings.
He did not name the companies or disclose how much the government expects to raise, saying such details would be determined during the process.
Mr Gbeleyi said the power sector remained a strong candidate for public listing despite ongoing challenges.
“On the IPOs of potential DisCos and GenCo, at this stage, because of transaction confidentiality, we are not in a position to disclose two out of the 11 DisCos.
“We are also unable to disclose the GenCo that is the target for confidentiality, and to avoid causing anxiety or concern, whether among labour, workers, or the wider society,” The Guardian quoted him as saying.
The Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) currently has 23 power plants connected to the national grid, though the DG noted that as many as five plants can be out of operation at once due to gas shortages, transmission constraints, vandalism, and liquidity problems.
He added that shareholder loan agreements had been signed for 10 of the 11 DisCos, with disbursement expected soon. Plans to privatise five GenCos, however, have been suspended, largely because of exchange rate volatility.
“The transaction is held in abeyance. It was in the middle of the transaction that we recorded a massive exchange volatility. When the transaction started in 2021, the official exchange rate was around N450, but as of last year, the exchange rate was averaging N1,600 to a dollar. Today, it is N1575.
“So, the fundamentals of the transaction changed along the line, but government is still keeping an eye on it,” the DG said.
He also criticised the failure of GenCos to adopt the eligible customer regulation, citing inadequate transmission infrastructure as a key obstacle. “Eligible customer will also need transmission capability. If you produce power in Zungeru and need to sell it in Egbin Power, there will be transmission infrastructure available for you to dispatch your power.
“It is not just about the eligibility of customers, but you must also ensure that you have the wheeling infrastructure to deliver that power to that eligible customer,” he said.
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The DG said core investors remain in four DisCos, while seven others have been restructured. He added that the unbundling of the Transmission Company of Nigeria had led to the creation of the Nigerian Independent System Operator to promote efficiency and market independence.
On metering, Mr Gbeleyi disclosed that the industry had recorded 6.47 million installations as of 31 March, compared with 403,255 meters in 2013. Of that number, 3.2 million meters were installed under the $500 million Distribution Sector Recovery Programme, while 2.5 million were delivered through the Presidential Metering Initiative.