The 60th power dialogue hosted by The Electricity Hub centred around the challenges surrounding the eligible customer regulation.
Before this discussion, there have been series of bottlenecks around generation companies losing trillions of naira to poor capacity utilisation, consumers equally clamouring for constant and reliable power supply as business activities are in an epileptic state owing to the lack of power.
Present at the dialogue was Dr Musiliu Oseni, Vice Chairman, Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), who explained the idea behind the eligible customer regulation, who can be classified as an eligible customer and the processes involved in becoming a certified eligible customer.
Equally present at the dialogue was Engr. Ibrahim Usman, Chairman, Manufacturers Power Development Company Ltd. He spoke on the distress businesses have had due to the lack of stable power supply and the effort of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) to ensure businesses thrive. According to him, ‘MAN self generates over 14,000MW from their facilities’.
Some major highlights from the discussion are as follows:
- As a Distribution Company (DisCo) customer embarking on being an eligible customer, One has to acquire a letter of indebtedness from DisCo stating that they are not absconding from the obligation. Also, the customer should submit proof of electricity bills to NERC.
- If, in any case, a Generation Company (GenCo) or an eligible customer intends on creating a new service line, there has to be a bilateral agreement with the distribution company that is operating within the region.
- One of the critical challenges that have halted the successful implementation of the eligible customer regulation is the non-adherence to the regulatory guidelines and procedures.
- Another critical challenge is the blame game around stranded power evacuation owing to the transmission bottleneck and distribution constraint. According to Dr Musiliu, the DisCos are not solely responsible for stranded power, but it is equally a fault from the transmission system constraint.
In summary, the regulator assured that it is doing all to ensure power availability to enhance the country’s economic stability and business growth.