The Association of Power Generation Companies (APGC) says power generation companies (GenCos) have not received payment for electricity generated since June 2018 from the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading PLC (NBET).

The Executive Secretary of APGC, Joy Ogaji, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday.

Ms Ogaji also told NAN that GenCos were owed N500 billion for power generated from 2013, when they took over electricity generation, to December 2016.

“The GenCos debt is classified into about three categories, so when you are talking about debts, before even NBET came, market operators were owing GenCos.

“If you calculate all that debt from 2013 to December 2016, GenCos debt were about N500 billion, this debt that we are talking about is without interest.

“Because the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) says if they delay to pay, GenCos are entitled to interest, so this amount is without interest, it does not also cover the cost for available capacity.

“You know GenCos makes capacity available, so the power that is being rejected it does not cover that one, because that one is a different cost.

“From 2017, NBET, through Federal Government’s Payment Assurance Guarantee has only been paying 80 per cent and there is 20 per cent short fall till date.

“And for this year, since June we have not been paid,” Ms Ogaji said.

On GenCos meeting their obligation on payment to gas companies, she said: “GenCos have been taking loans from the banks to be able to meet their obligations in the market and put power on the grid. ‘ “Because when we don’t generate, we are called saboteurs they will start saying that the owners of the GenCos are PDP members that is why they are not generating. “But the government is not looking at the cost implication of putting power on the grid and you are not paying for it.

“There is no business person that will want to continue business when you are not getting anything on it and upon that you are being accused that you are a saboteur.”

The APGC executive secretary, however, said GenCos were engaging NBET on the nonpayment since June.

Reacting to alleged nonpayment of GenCos invoice since June, Head Corporate Communication of NBET, Henrietta Ighomrore, told NAN that comment on GenCos not receiving their payment for their invoice since June was not accurate.

She said GenCos had always received their payment as at when due, saying that at no time did NBET withhold payment to GenCos.

“NBET do not retain any money, every money we receive from the DisCos, we immediately pay it to the GenCos to settle their invoices.”

She said it was important to understand how payments were made in the electricity market.

“For instance, if you have January invoice, that invoice will be coming to you around end of February or early March.

“Because when the generating companies generate and then they send to us and then we send to the DisCos.