Sam Amadi, NERC Chairman
- Igali: Electricity may surpass 10,000MW this year
By Ike Abonyi and 
Chineme Okafor
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has revealed its intention to extend by additional 15 years, operational licences granted to companies that operate in the Nigeria’s Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
This came as the federal government at the weekend disclosed that its target was to have 24 hours nationwide coverage of electricity as against the 12 to 16 hours currently being enjoyed by some Nigerians.
NERC said at the weekend in Abuja that the new provision had become necessary as it sought to mitigate the various operational risks associated with licences with short lifespan such as what it had granted to existing operators in the country’s power sector.
To this end, the commission explained that it would now guarantee a 25-year maximum tenure for licences it issues to companies engaged in electricity businesses in the country, after which further renewal of the licences could be granted upon due consideration.
The Chairman of NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, had hinted of the proposed licence extension when he spoke at the recent signing of a number of power industry transaction agreements between the federal government and operators in the industry following government’s reform of the sector and the privatisation of successor companies of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
Amadi had made this disclosure while reiterating the tenacity of the commission to protect extant rights of domestic and industrial electricity end users and preferred bidders of PHCN companies in the country as the privatisation exercise comes to conclusion.
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