MDA’s owe NPA Le 20 billion
Ministries, Departments and Agencies put together have to pay the National Power Authority (NPA) Le 20.8 billion as arrears for a period of nine months.
Sources say that THE Ministry of Defence has accumulated electricity payments to a sum totalling Le 8.4 billion.
The Sierra Leone Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) is to pay NPA Le 3.9 million, Ministry of Health Le 3.3 billion, to mention but few.
The General Manager of NPA, Dr. Ahmed Zubairu Kalokoh said the late payment of bills hampers the supply of 24 hours electricity.
He said however that regular customers including residential, commercial, and industrial customers have to pay outstanding arrears to the tune of about Le 15 billion.
“We are on a massive disconnection and will not at all encourage any institution refusing to pay electricity bills,” Dr. Zubairu said.
“It is our wish to increase on revenue collection so as to provide the constant supply of light to city residents.”
Dr. Kalokoh noted that his organization has spent over 2 million dollars to buy transmission and distribution materials to boost electricity in the western area.
He explained that because of the low power supply from Bumbuna, and its cost, the authority is forced to spend about Le 7 billion on fuel every month.
“This is how the NPA tactfully sustains the thermal plants at Kingtom and Blackhall Road,” he said.
He disclosed that the NPA has installed some 20 thousand pre-paid meters in the Western Area to improve on revenue collection for the authority.
He said that the National Power Authority has recovered about Le 2 billion from people caught illegally abstracting electricity.
“One major problem,” he said, “we pay Le 6 billion every month to Bumbuna for insufficient power supply, noting that, NPA receives just 6 megawatts at the moment.”
Sources close to NPA intimated to this press that the recent drop of power supply in the Western Area was due to the low power supply from Bumbuna.
Reports say works are underway to install pre-paid meters in all homes, institutions and establishment in the country.
“Despite the constraints and challenges faced by NPA we are working hard to sustain electricity in the country.”
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