The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee reviewing Nigeria’s power sector reforms and expenditure from 2007 to 2024 has accused electricity distribution companies (DisCos) of crippling Nigeria’s power supply through years of underinvestment, inadequate network expansion, and failure to meet commitments contained in their original business plans.

During the public hearing, the Chairman of the committee, Ibrahim Aliyu, expressed concern that despite claims by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) that it has the capacity to wheel up to 8,000 megawatts, the DisCos continue to take only about 4,000 megawatts due to limited infrastructure, a setback he described as self-inflicted.

 He said the firms “have refused to invest, refused to expand, and refused franchising options”, creating conditions that encourage energy theft, meter bypassing, and widespread consumer dissatisfaction.

 “You have caused this problem because you could not expand from what you inherited,” he told the DISCOs. “For 13 to 14 years now, if you had made the necessary investments, substations, up-to-date transformers, proper network expansion, there would be no issue. You would uptake more energy, the cost would be lower, and Nigerians would be happy,” he chided them.

 He argued that many consumers resort to illegal connections due to monthly billing of electricity that is either not supplied or grossly inadequate.

 “How do you expect someone whose monthly bill equals his salary to keep paying? People will look for alternatives. And your refusal to invest has contributed to this unholy attitude of bypassing and stealing energy,” he said.

 The committee chairman noted that Nigerians in some areas enjoyed better supply under the defunct NEPA/NITEL-era systems and expected significant improvements after private investors took over the national grid assets.

 He challenged the DisCos to reconcile their earlier claims of competence and financial strength with their current failure to meet tariff requirements, expand networks, and deliver improved service.

 Dr Mahmood Abubakar, the Chief Regulatory and Compliance Officer of Kaduna Electricity, said about 60% of electricity supplied nationwide was being subsidised , a situation he claimed has weakened investor confidence and constrained the ability of distribution companies to make essential capital investments.