What Nigerians Stand to Gain as President Tinubu Signs Electricity Act 2023

• President Bola Tinubu signed the Electricity Act 2023 into law to reduce the Electricity and Power Sector Reform Act, of 2005
• The newly signed Electricity Act 2023 will allow states and companies to generate, transmit and distribute power supply
• The Electricity Act 2023 abolished the monopoly of generating, transmitting, and distributing power at the national level

State House, Abuja -The newly signed Electricity Act 2023 by President Bola Tinubu, has opened doors for states and companies to generate, transmit and distribute power supply.

The Electricity Act, which replaced the Electricity and Power Sector Reform Act, of 2005, has canceled the monopoly of power generation and distribution in Nigeria, BBC Pidgin reported.

The new development will encourage private-sector investment to come in during a time when the Nigerian power sector is facing serious challenges.

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What does the new Electricity Act 2023 means?

What the Electricity Act 2023 means is that there is no monopoly on electricity generation, transmission, and distribution at the national level.

The new act allows states to issue licenses to private investors to operate mini-grids and power plants within their state.

However, the new electricity act does not include interstate and transnational electricity distribution.

The Electricity Act 2023 stipulates that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) will still regulate the electricity sector within Nigeria for states who don’t have their own regulators.

The new act noted that NERC’s ability to regulate within Nigeria will not affect the powers of the states to make laws and create electricity markets within those states and to regulate those markets.

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It is compulsory under the new act for electricity-generating companies to either generate power from renewable energy sources, buy power generated from renewable energy, or buy any instrument that will represent renewable energy generation.

NERC directs electricity companies to disconnect indebted customers after 12 days

Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the electricity distribution companies can only disconnect customers who have not paid their bills for at least 12 days, according to a recent statement from the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

The statement was contained in NERC’s Customer Protection Regulation, 2023, and was shared on the Commission’s website on April 20, 2023.

Nigeria missing in top 10 African countries with best electricity access

Legit.ng had reported that Nigeria's poor electricity supply had put it behind seemingly smaller countries with less Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Africa.

Electricity supply remains the fulcrum of national development in any country, and many African countries lack this basic and all-important amenity for their teeming population.

Source: Legit.ng