$33m Azura payment: Finance, Power ministers to face Reps’ panel  

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) yesterday told the House of Representatives Committee on Finance that Azura Power Company has not been able to deliver the 450 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the national grid in accordance with the power purchase agreement.

TCN Managing Director Sule Abdulazeez said this when he appeared before the House Committee on Finance.

The TCN boss said the company was unable to deliver power as agreed because of the non-completion of the power line that is supposed to take to power to the grid.

But when the committee sought to know how TCN had evacuated power from the company and why the transmission lines had not been completed, Abdulazeez said the companied relied on the Benin/Oshogbo transmission line.

The TCN boss explained that the transmission line in question had not been completed because of inadequate budgetary provisions.

This prompted the committee to summon the Ministers of Power and Finance as well as the heads of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) to appear before it over the $33 million being paid monthly for the take and pay power purchase agreement with appear before the committee at a date to be communicated to them are: the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Transmission (NBET), the TCN and the Nigeria Electricity Azura.

Other agencies that are expected to Regulatory Commission (NERC).

Committee Chairman James Faleke, who alleged a breached of the power purchase agreement, frowned at perennial power failure in the country, despite the huge resources being spent on the sector. Nation