Background
Decentralisation of the grid has been a topical issue in the country since the signing of the Electricity Act (Amendment) Act (EAAA) into law by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Commentators had argued that it was inefficient for the country to continue to maintain one central national grid as this was not going to aid the growth and development of the country’s power sector. The signing of the EAAA was therefore considered a monumental event in the evolution of Nigeria’s power sector.
This has led to clamour for State Governments to introduce a framework for the development of their respective State electricity market in order to attract the investments required to generate and distribute sustainable and reliable electricity within their domain. Several States have engaged consultants to assist them with this process while others are waiting to see the impact before determining how they move forward. The Enugu State Government became one of the first to formally notify the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) of its intention to take over the regulation of power within its domain, a right, which it now has by virtue of the EAAA. NERC has, as enshrined in the EAAA, affirmed that right, and therefore instructed the Enugu Electricity Distribution Company (EEDC) to incorporate a subsidiary for the purpose of conducting its distribution activities within the State. EEDC currently distributes power to all the 5 South Eastern States and will continue to do so under the terms of its current NERC licence. It is therefore essential that the entity which would be responsible for electricity distribution within Enugu State alone is different from that which has the licence to distribute across the other various States and does not come under the purview of the Enugu State Government.
This is to ensure an orderly regulatory environment.
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