2023-08-25 14:24:38
Payment delays continue to weigh on the finances of the National Office for Water and Electricity (ONEE). Public administrations remain among the main debtors of the Office with a slate that often exceeded several billion dirhams. Faced with this situation, the government intends to reverse the trend. The details.
ONEE is now engaged in a major plan to meet national demand. However, the financial situation of the Office is weakened by the delays in payment of the invoices of these large customers, in particular the public administrations. The situation is such that government instructions have just been given to the various public administrations to proceed with the payment of claims, giving priority to claims owed to the National Office for Water and Electricity. It must be said that the slate due to the public administration but also the former state controls and local communities amounted for years to several billion dirhams, which represents a serious shortfall for the Office weighing seriously on its balance sheet as well as its financial situation. Just before the health crisis caused by the Covid-19 virus at the end of 2019, officials had drawn attention to the burden represented by unpaid bills from large wallets. Indeed, ONEE had made debt collection a priority in recent years. This involves recovering, with the support of the services of the Ministry of the Interior and that of the economy and finance, commercial debts due and not collected from administrations, public establishments and companies, local authorities and governed in in respect of their trade debts stopped at the end of 2018. At that date, the amount of receivables already amounted to more than 3.4 billion dirhams. The rise in raw material prices following the health crisis made the situation more complicated for ONEE, which not only had to deal with the increase in the cost of raw materials to produce electricity in particular, but also to meet the growing demand. important to customers. A few days ago, Morocco recorded historic records for electrical power. The electrical power demand peaks were recorded in the morning and evening of Monday August 7 (peak) as well as during the day of Tuesday August 8 (daily consumption). ONEE explains that “these records are due in particular to the massive use of air conditioning and agricultural pumping for irrigation needs, due to the period of high heat currently recorded in all regions of the Kingdom”. To meet this growing demand, the Office must invest, but financial capacity is under severe pressure, particularly due to late payment of invoices, mainly from major customers such as the administration.
Officials hope to clear all debts in the next budget or at least reduce them. (DR)
Prioritization
This situation is pushing government officials to prioritize the payment of debts due to the Office under the 2024 Finance Law. Thus, the framework letter for the next Finance Law calls for the purification of debts to ONEE . The said note clearly called on the administrations with regard to the charges for the future budget “to avoid arrears and to prioritize the purification of debts, mainly those relating to water and electricity, due to the National Office of ‘water and electricity’. Officials hope to purge all debts within the framework of the next budget or at least reduce the colossal arrears in the coming months to enable the Office to concentrate on its action plan. Because ONEE is currently thinking regarding overhauling its economic model. In this sense, ONEE has launched a study with the aim of redefining its vision and refocusing on its missions, excluding distribution, reviewing its business model and adapting its strategic orientations, objectives, actions and ways of working to be a driving force in the various current and future transitions. “This ambition to change the paradigm and to adapt the Office’s activities to the rhythm of the development of the water sector and the international and national energy landscape is also perfectly in line with the implementation of implementation of the recommendations of the report on the New Development Model which mentions, specifically for ONEE, that its restructuring constitutes an opportunity to enable it to carry out its strategic functions, modernize its activities and support the reform of the sectors of the ‘energy and water’. He added: “This restructuring, which should allow ONEE to refocus on its core business, excluding distribution, is an essential prerequisite for consolidating the economic and financial model of the Office and should focus, in particular, on , on the one hand, the establishment of a map of activities to be outsourced and, on the other hand, on the sale of assets not necessary for operation and of subsidiaries and holdings that do not contribute to the basic missions of the ‘Office”. This study will take place in three stages. The first step will focus on an in-depth analysis of the environment – in particular economic, legal, financial and operational – in which the Office operates and of the key trends in the electricity and water markets with the performance of a diagnostic comprehensive review of the Office’s current business model as well as an assessment of its current activities and its ability to reposition its strategy. The second stage is dedicated, among other things, to the definition and evaluation of strategic repositioning options, the development of a business model implementation plan, as well as the production of a detailed restructuring plan, in particular the transformation of the Office into a public limited company on the basis of a prior assessment of the advantages and constraints of this operation. The third phase will be devoted to supporting ONEE for the effective implementation of its new business model and its transformation into a public limited company.
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Transformation
In Morocco, public establishments are part of the new vision materialized by Law No. 50-21 relating to the reform of public establishments and enterprises “EEP” and Law No. 82-20 establishing the National Agency for strategic management of State holdings and monitoring of EEP performance (ANGSPE). According to ONEE, the vision conveyed by these two texts is reinforced by the general report on the New Development Model (which insisted on the need to strengthen EEPs through a reform of State shareholder policy and formulated recommendations relating to the scope of activities of ONEE) and the report of the Court of Auditors on the EEP sector in Morocco. Added to this is the operationalization of the ANRE in accordance with Law 48-15. “The current context is also marked by the need to speed up the implementation of the major guidelines defined by the public authorities, linked to the restructuring of the sector which should ultimately lead to the operational separation between production, transmission and the distribution and effective establishment of the independent entity to ensure the management of the national transport network”, notes the same source.
Performances
Records
A few days ago, Morocco recorded historic records for electrical power. The electrical power demand peaks were recorded in the morning and evening of Monday August 7 (peak) as well as during the day of Tuesday August 8 (daily consumption).
Air conditioner
ONEE explains that “these records are due in particular to the massive use of air conditioning and agricultural pumping for irrigation needs, due to the period of high heat currently recorded in all regions of the Kingdom”.
Rise
The power demand at the morning peak reached 6,060 MW at 1 p.m., up 70 MW compared to the maximum morning peak recorded in 2016. That of the evening peak reached 6,180 MW at 9:30 p.m., up 130 MW , compared to the maximum evening peak recorded in 2016.
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