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| Babatunde Raji Fashola |
Effective May 15, 2017, electricity generating companies (Gencos)
in Nigeria would now be free to generate and sell electricity directly to
end-users across the country, with very minimal interferences from the 11
electricity distribution companies (Discos), the Nigerian Electricity
Regulatory Commission (NERC) has declared.
Tagged as the ‘eligible customers’ regime, the declaration,
NERC said in a statement yesterday, was signed off by the Minister of Power,
Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola.
The statement announcing this was signed by NERC’s head of
public affairs, Dr. Usman Arabi. It said its declaration was legally backed by
the provisions of Section 27 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005
(EPSRA), adding that it represented a major policy directive which now grants
electricity consumers under this category the right to buy power directly from
Gencos almost unhindered.
NERC stated that under the regime, Fashola signed off four
categories of eligible customers to become operative in the Nigerian
Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
The first category of eligible customers, it noted,
comprises of a group of end-users registered with the NERC and whose
consumption is not less than two megawatts (MW) and connected to a metered 11kV
or 33kV delivery point on the distribution network. This group would however be
subjected to a distribution use of system agreement for the delivery of
electrical energy.
The second category of eligible customers are those
connected to a metered 132kV or 330kV delivery point on the transmission
network under a transmission use of system agreement for connection and
delivery of energy.
The third category of customers under the declaration
consists of those with consumption in excess of two megawatts on monthly basis
and connected directly to a metered 33kV delivery point on the transmission
network under a transmission use of system agreement. It added that eligible
customers in this category must have entered into a bilateral agreement with
the distribution licensee licensed to operate in the location, for the construction,
installation and operation of a distribution system for connection to the 33kV
delivery point.
The fourth category, according to regulatory agency are
eligible customers whose minimum consumption is more than two megawatts over a
period of one month and directly connected to the metering facility of a
generation company, and has entered into a bilateral agreement for the
construction and operation of a distribution line with the distribution
licensee licensed to operate in the location.
Justifying the decision of the government to accent to its
request for a declaration of an eligible consumers regime in the NESI, NERC
said: “The declaration which permits electricity customers to buy power
directly from the generation companies is in line with the provisions of
Section 27 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act 2005 whereby eligible
customers are permitted to buy power from a licensee other than electricity
distribution companies.”
It added that: “In exercising the power conferred on him by
the said Act, the Honourable Minister of Power Works and Housing, directed the
Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (the Commission) to permit four
categories of customers to buy power directly from a licensee other than
electricity distribution companies.”
It explained that the government and the commission expect
that the new policy would bring into play new and stranded power generation
capacities which may be contracted between generation companies and eligible
customers.
“The declaration further provides that at least 20 per cent
of the generation capacity added by the existing or prospective generation
licensee to supply eligible customer must be above the requirement of the
eligible customer and is supplied under a contract with a distribution or trading
licensee at a price not exceeding the average wholesale price being charged
electricity distribution companies by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trader Ltd.
“The conditions for the declaration of eligible customer are
subject to review by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission from time
to time,” it added.
While reacting to the new policy, the Association of Power
Generation Companies (APGC) which represents the interests of Gencos who are
part of the direct beneficiaries of the regime, stated that it was a welcome
development, one they had consistently pushed for to be implemented.
APGC’s Executive Secretary, Dr. Joy Ogaji, told THISDAY that the declaration would create good efficiency in the
country’s electricity market, and also place electricity customers first on the
priority lists of operators going forward.
“This is a welcome development. We have consistently asked
the government to do this, and we are solidly in support of it. We however hope
that the government will be firm in its implementation of the new regime,” said
Ogaji.
She further explained: “The benefits of this if you must now
are that it will introduce competition on the demand end of the market;
complete the liberalisation process in the NESI; introduce efficiency on the
parts of the Gencos because it would mean that anyone that’s not efficient
would be losing out.”
“This will no doubt create an appropriate customers’ service
regime which in other words means that customers will now become kings again;
as well as introduce new forms of trading in the market like electricity
retailers.
“There would also be reductions in the technical losses from
bulk high voltage and this will ultimately lead to national economic
development because bulk electricity users who make up 30 per cent of the
consumer base would be free to deal directly with Gencos and get steady
supplies to power their operations,” she added.
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