REVEALED: Former Head of State, Abdusalami Abubakar to get biggest electricity distribution firms!

Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing Limited, a firm in which the former Head of State, Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar, is the chairman, is in the lead to acquire three of the juiciest electricity distribution companies in the country.

The electricity distribution companies are Eko, Ikeja and Ibadan.

Integrated Energy Distribution and Marketing was pre-qualified to take control of the companies at the opening of bids submitted by 20 firms jostling for controlling stakes in 10 electricity distribution companies put up for privatisation by the Federal Government on Tuesday in Abuja.

Although frontline bidders for the companies emerged, clear winners of the bids had yet to emerge, as the rules for the bidding employed by the Bureau of Public Enterprises prescribed that the bidders would still be subjected to further tests.

Although some bidders emerged top contenders in a number of companies, one of the rules states that no company can be allowed to win more than two bids.

In addition, no company will be allowed to win both the Ikeja and Eko Electricity Distribution Companies, which collectively generate about 45 per cent of the total revenue of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

Based on the rules, the National Council on Privatisation, led by Vice-President Namadi Sambo, will still subject the top contenders to scrutiny before announcing the eventual winners.

The Chairman, Technical Committee, NCP, Mr. Atedo Peterside, said successful bidders were contractually bound to deliver on the Average Technical, Commercial and Collection loss reduction levels they had submitted.

Peterside said, “The bidder offering the highest ATC&C loss reduction is in a leading position subject to the ground rules.

“The regulator will not adjust tariffs upwards to accommodate the inability of a Disco operator to deliver on the ATC&C levels that they commit to; rather tariffs will be adjusted downward annually to reflect the agreed ATC&C loss levels irrespective of the operator’s ability to meet its contractual obligation.”

However, going by the strategy adopted, the Federal Government will realise N197.25bn at the end of the sale of the 10 companies, whose bids were opened on Tuesday.