Terminal operators waive N1.5b charges on stranded power equipment containers at port

Container terminal operators in Nigeria have waived a princely sum of N1.5 billion on more than 500 stranded power equipment containers belonging to the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

The government has found it difficult to pay for accrued demurrage and storage charges, which kept accumulating till now.

The operators under the aegis of Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) at the weekend said the sum was waived in support of the Federal Government’s effort to ensure steady supply of electricity in the country.

STOAN spokesman, Bolaji Akinola, in a statement said: “We are not unmindful of the fact that electricity is the most important commodity for national development.

“Stable electric power supply is an empowerment and an enabler for people to work from the domestic level and the cottage industries, through the small-scale and medium industries to employment in the large-scale manufacturing complexes.

“We took this bold step in support of the government’s effort to ensure steady power supply and accelerate economic development. The implication of this was that we had to waive additional charges that accrued as storage over another one year period from April 2016 to when payment was made in March 2017,” he added.

The Federal Government confirmed in January 2017 that it had taken delivery of the 500 power equipment containers from the port.

The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, made the announcement while receiving a 20-year Transmission Expansion Master Plan presented by the Interim Managing Director of TCN, Usman Gur Mohammed, in Abuja.

Fashola said the containers containing transmission equipment had been deployed to TCN sites.

He said the delivery of the containers was in line with a presidential mandate to improve the capacity of TCN to deliver service between power Generating Companies (GENCOs) and power Distribution Companies (DISCOs).