More Power Expected as 7 Firms Leave National Grid to Generate Electricity in Lagos, FCT, Others

• Nigerians can expect more power as seven firms have secured permits and licenses to generate electricity
• While five of these companies are only allowed to generate their own power, the other two have the permit to generate and sell power to Nigerians
• NERC has pledged its commitment to improving power supply in Nigeria by licensing more renewable energy firms

Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

While Nigeria continues to battle its power outage and incessant grid collapses, more institutions are leaving the national grid to generate power.

Another six firms and one private university have just secured their license from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to generate and distribute electricity.

The seven firms, which include the Nile University of Nigeria in Abuja, will be generating up to 30MW of electricity under different arrangements.

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According to the NERC, Daybreak Power Solutions Limited secured a one-off grid generation license with a gross capacity of 2.63 MW in Q4, 2024.

Another four applicants also got permits to generate captive power amounting to 22.50MW. These include the Nile University of Nigeria, Airport Road, Jabbi Abuja (10 MW); Quantum Paper Limited, Agbara, Ogun State (7 MW); Ro-Marong Nigeria Limited in Amuwo-Odofin, Lagos (4.40 MW); and Psaltry International Company Limited, Alayide village, Oyo State (1.10 MW).

The permits allow these four institutions to generate power for self-consumption and maintain their own power plants, but they are not allowed to sell the electricity generated to any third party.

Two firms to generate power across 6 states

Within Q4, 2024, Prado Limited secured 24 permits to generate electricity with mini-grids in 24 locations in Benue, Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo and Kano States, while Cross Boundary Energy got five certificates to distribute power in Kogi State, the Punch reports.

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These permits are mini-grid concessions that allow these companies to serve a specific geographical location, and it covers grids with up to 1MW generation capacity and above 100kW distribution capacity.

Section 165(1)(m) of the Electricity Act 2023 provides that such licenses may be awarded to renewable energy companies and mini-grid developers, specifying the location to be served and the aggregate electricity to be generated and distributed from that site.

NERC says it will continue to encourage the utilisation of renewable energy and issue permits and registration certificates as required for mini-grid developments.

Recall that over 250 companies and academic institutions have ditched the national grid to generate their electricity, amounting to about 6,500MW.

This is already higher than Nigeria's power generation record of 6,000MW from the Transmission Company of Nigeria.

MTN, Dangote, others leave national grid

In related news, MTN Communications Nigeria Limited, Havenhill Synergy, Dangote Group and several others have received permits from the NERC.

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This puts them among over 250 companies in Nigeria generating power for their own electricity needs.

Others include the Golden Penny Power Limited, which secured a permit to construct six off-grid gas plants in the states of Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, and Cross River.

Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng