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NERC defends position as power sector regulator

By Businessnews Staff on August 21, 2014

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on Monday defended its position as the only authorised regulator of the power industry.

The Chairman, NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, said recent claims that the commission lacked the capacity to regulate technical operations in the electricity supply industry were untrue, considering the number of technical regulations and codes it had developed for the market.

He said proponents of the Nigeria Electricity Management Services Authority Bill, currently before the National assembly, were doing the sector harm.

The controversial NEMSA bill seeks to convert the Electricity Management Services Plc into an authority that will be saddled with technical regulation of the Nigerian electricity supply industry, a responsibility that is statutorily covered by NERC in the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, 2005.

If the bill is passed and accented into law, the EMS will become a parallel regulator of the electricity market.

Speaking at the formal presentation of the NERC health and safety code in Abuja, Amadi said, “The National Electric Power Policy 2000 and EPSR 2005, which are the guiding spirit for the power sector reform, unambiguously mandate the commission as the sole and independent technical and economic regulator of the NESI. At this point, I must correct the wrong impression being created by some people that there is no effective technical regulation of the NESI.

“This wicked misinformation is aimed at distracting the commission from its core mandates, causing disharmony and derailing the progress made in the power sector. I will like to categorically state here that there is no gap whatsoever in the technical regulation in the NESI as being alleged.

“The commission has put in place several regulatory instruments to address technical and safety issues arising from across the electricity supply chain.”

The NERC chairman equally stated that the transparency and independence of the regulator had earned the sector the present level of confidence, adding, “It is this confidence that is boosting the large inflow of local and foreign investors.”

“It should be understood that the development of an effective and efficient electricity market that will provide safe, adequate, reliable and affordable electricity to Nigerians is hard work. It, therefore, requires commitment, competence, doggedness and focus,” Amadi added.

[Punch]

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