In the past, there have been accusations against the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). These accusations essentially confronted the commission for being biased and not properly carrying out its regulatory duties. These confrontations have recently been capped with the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC) suing the NERC, a serious case of the regulator getting regulated. Find more info here.
The BEDC, one of the eleven (11) Distribution Companies (DisCos) in Nigeria, sued the NERC over an operation licence. The latter allegedly made attempts to grant an Independent Electricity Distribution Network (IEDN) licence to Asaba Distribution Limited (ADL). BEDC asked the Federal High Court (FHC) to restrain the commission from issuing the licence to the ADL.
The suit, with No. FHC/ABJ/CS/26/2021, was scheduled to be heard on the 19th of January, 2021. However, the commission postponed the hearing indefinitely. The excuse being that it needed time for preparation to defend itself.
Actions like this by the commission, the regulatory commission at that, do not fail to spark controversy across the Nigerian electricity sector. For what reason is it justifiable that the regulatory body makes plans to arbitrarily grant a licence to a new investor. THIS IS NOT EVEN THE MOST SHOCKING PART OF THE COMMISSION’S ACTIONS.
Why grant this licence to the new investor to operate within the franchise area of an already existing DisCo?
Also, this plan by the regulatory body tugs at the fragility that is the seeming façade of the privatisation of the Nigerian electricity market.
Maybe the regulator needs to get regulated after all.