The World Bank has confirmed the continuation of the Nigerian government’s $500 million Distribution Sector Recove ry Programme (DISREP), providing relief to stakeholders amid concerns over the future of key power sector reform initiatives.
The programme, backed by the World Bank, is designed to improve the financial and technical performance of Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies (DisCos) through investments in metering, network rehabilitation and operational efficiency.
The clarification followed concerns triggered by the cancellation of the $717 million undisbursed portion of the Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP) financing facility, which had raised questions about whether other electricity sector support programmes would also be affected since DISREP operates directly under the umbrella of the PSRP.
“The World Bank Group remains fully committed to supporting the Nigeria Distribution Sector Recovery Program, which is improving metering and distribution performance,” Mansir Nasir, Senior External Affairs Officer, World Bank Group, told BusinessDay on Wednesday.
He said the World Bank Group remains committed to supporting Nigeria’s power sector and continues to work closely with the Government to improve electricity provision and access despite confirmed cancellation of the undisbursed portion of the Power Sector Recovery Performance-Based Operation Additional Financing.
