The Nation Newspaper

Tag: NERC

  • NERC okays Mojec as Meter Asset Provider

    Mojec International Lim-ited, an indigenous prepaid meter manufacturing company, has been granted  a ‘No Objection’ licence by the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) as an asset provider under the new Meter Asset Provider (MAP) policy.

    This was stated in a confirmation letter from NERC to the company dated June 7, signed by the agency’s Commissioner, Legal, Licensing and Compliance, Mr. Dafe Akpeneye.

    This disproves the information being circulated in the public domain that the firm was not part of the approved MAP list.

    The letter read: “The Commission has conducted a due diligence on the supporting documents to your application for a ‘No Objection’ in accordance with Section 8 of the Meter Assets Provider Regulations Act 2018.”

    “The initial due diligence did not reveal any adverse findings with the document submitted in support of your application for a ‘No objection’ and Mojec International is hereby granted a ‘No Objection’ to participate in the procurement process for MAPS in accordance with Section 8(4) of the Meter Assets Provider Regulations 2018.”

    Reacting to the letter of certification, the Managing Director, Mojec International Limited, Ms. Chantelle Abdul, commended the regulatory agency for the confidence reposed in Mojec International Limited as one of the companies to drive the MAP Scheme.

    She said: “The company being a proudly Nigerian manufacturer of world class standard meters, remains committed to the Nigerian vision and ever determined to deliver top quality products and services to its customers across the country.”

    “Mojec not only remains a major stakeholder in the metering arm of the Nigerian power sector but intends to continue to serve Nigerians and the electricity distribution companies by participating in the MAP program & ensuring that all Nigerians reserve the much desired meters,” she said.

     

  • MAN seeks govt’s intervention in N29b tariff dispute with DisCos, NERC

    The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has appealed to the Federal Government to resolve its N29 billion electricity tariff dispute with the Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

    Its Director-General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, made the appeal yesterday in an interview  in Lagos.

    Ajayi-Kadir spoke while assessing the three years performance of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, its impact on the manufacturing sector and setting agenda for the coming year.

    He urged the Federal Government to assist in settling the dispute out of court by picking part of the N29 billion  debt.

    According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), he said the dispute arose because the DisCos and NERC (allegedly) failed to abide by the new Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO 2015) that was subsisting at that time.

    “By the last count, I was told that cumulatively manufacturers owe the DisCos N29 billion and that is absolutely a crazy figure.

    “We want the government to intervene and find an amicable solution to the issue so that the 2,000 megawatts that manufacturers ought to benefit from would be released and not hindered by this court process.

    “The government can also pick up part of the bill as a matter of urgency to bail out the sector,” Ajayi-Kadir said.

    It would be recalled that the dispute arose when MAN directed its members nationwide to ignore the new MYTO 2015.

    The association  later went to court to obtain an injunction restraining NERC and DisCos from implementing the new tariff regime.

    MAN said the tariff was too expensive for manufacturers and would lead to closure of many businesses.

    Besides, the Director-General said the Eligible Customer Policy evolved by the government might not have the desired impact on the manufacturing sector due to the unresolved N29 billion debt issue.

    He said the policy would not work because MAN was told that for it to access the eligible customer scheme, it must have a no debt bill with the DisCos.

    The policy was targeted at enabling consumers purchase power directly from the GenCos, instead of depending wholly on the DisCos.

    Ajayi-Kadir said although these measures were meant to assist the manufacturing sector, the government should ensure factors militating against their workability, such as the debt issue, were tackled.

    According to him, the current administration has  done a lot, but still expects we expect the government to work more on allowing these initiatives to work, particularly in the areas of power.

    “It is a dilemma for us in the manufacturing sector because the cost of power is high and we have inadequate supply.

    “I believe that government should work more on generation, particularly distribution. The DisCos are challenged and they have enumerated quite a lot of challenges that are militating against their effective performance.

    “The government needs to remove the impediments with the DisCos by intervening in the process of out of court settlement and also help them with their distribution challenges,” Ajayi-Kadir said.

     

  • NERC okays 22 firms for meter procurement

    The Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) yesterday said it has granted “No Objection” to 22 companies to participate in it is Meter Procurement Process.

    Its General Manager, Public Affairs , Dr. Usman Abba Arabi recalled in a statement that following the Commission’s approval of the Meter Asset Provider (MAP) Regulations 2018, applications were invited from interested investors for ‘No Objection’ from the Commission.

    MAP Regulations, according to him, is intended to facilitate closure of the wide metering gap in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) within three years. The ‘No Objection’ is to qualify intending investors to participate in the meter procurement process in NESI.

    “The Regulation mandates electricity distribution companies (DisCos) to engage meter assets providers who fund purchase, installation and replacement of meters to meet DisCos metering obligations to their customers. This is to ensure that all electricity customers are metered thereby reducing incidences of estimated electricity billing to the barest minimum.

    “The Commission having conducted due diligence on the supporting documents to the applications submitted by interested investors, has granted successful applicants ‘No Objection’ to participate in the procurement process for meter assets provision in accordance with section 8 subsection 4 of the Meter Assets Providers Regulations, 2018.

    “Members of the public and intending investors should please note that the publication of these applicants does not foreclose other interested applicants from getting the ‘No Objection’ as it is a continuous exercise.

    Companies granted ‘No Objection’ include Huawei Technology Company Nigeria Limited; Bilview Energy Limited; Chintech Electro Nigeria Limited; Holley Metering Limited; Meron Nigeria Limited; Integrated Power Limited; MBH Power Limited; Trimani Engineering Limited; Sapropel Energy Resources Limited; Megawatt Distribution International Limited; Unistar Hi-Tech Systems Limited; and MOMAS Electricity Meters Manufacturing Company Limited.

    “Others are Imperial Infrastructure Development Company Limited; Ratio Consulting Limited; Protogy Global Services Limited; Paktim Metering Nigeria Limited; Sabrud Consortium Nigeria Limited; Tinuten Nigeria Limited; Kayz Consortium Limited; BTS Power Limited; CIG Metering Assets Nigeria Limited and Cresthill Energy Limited.”

  • Buhari approves five new appointments for NDDC, NERC, NHRC

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of five new executives for National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

    Mr Olusegun Adekunle, Permanent Secretary, General Services Office, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), made this known in a statement yesterday in Abuja.

    He said the president made the appointments following their confirmation by the Senate.

    According to him, Mr Anthony Ojukwu from Imo State is the new Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) with initial term of five years.

    “Mr. Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa, who hails from Ondo State, is the new Executive Director, Niger Delta Development Commission(N with initial term of four years.

    “Hon. Chika Ama, Nwauwa also from Imo State has been appointed the new Executive Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) also with initial term of four years.

    “Mr Nwogu N. Nwogu from Abia State is the new Executive Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with initial term of four years.

    “And Prof. James Momoh from Edo State is the new Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) also with five years initial term.”

    The president directed that the appointments should take immediate effect.

  • NERC, call Ikeja Disco to order

    Sir: I hereby draw attention to the terrible power supply being experienced by residents of Ikola-Ilumo, near Ipaja, Lagos State.

    While our electricity supply remains one of the worst in Lagos, even whenever Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company supplies us electricity, the voltage can be frustrating. If it’s not too high, it will be too low. Sometimes, the power supply fluctuates in wild manner, blowing up appliances and gadgets.

    In the last one week, Ikeja Disco has supplied useless power which collapses once we plug anything, including laptops and phones. We have complained several times to Ikeja Disco, and they agreed that we need a new transformer, which they have refused to give us for over five years now.

    They said they would prop up the old transformer to make it work till new one will be available, but Ikeja Electric has refused to do this; yet, it keeps issuing bills for electricity not used.

    We urge the minister in charge of power, Babatunde Fashola, and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to intervene as this suffering is too much.

     

    • Jinadu Austin,

    Ikola-Ilumo, Ipaja, Lagos State.

  • NERC: meter regulation effective April 3

    The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) yesterday said its Meter Asset Provider (MAP) Regulation (Regulation No. NERC/R/112) will become effective on April 3.

    Head, Public Affairs Department, Dr. Usman Abba Arabi,  in a statement, said the Commission has approved a regulation that provides for the supply, installation and maintenance of end-user meters by other parties.

    The essence of the regulation, according to him, is to ensure that electricity customers only pay for what they actually consume.

    He added that the regulation is expected to fast track a closure of the metering gap and encourage the development of independent and competitive meter services in the industry.

    “The Meter Asset Provider (MAP) Regulation (Regulation No. NERC/R/112), which would become effective on April 3, 2018, introduces meter asset providers as a new set of service providers in Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry.

    “As assets with a technically useful life of 10-15 years, the regulation provides for the third-party financing of meters, under a Permit issued by the Commission, and amortisation over a period of 10 years.

    “The electricity distribution companies, in line with their licensing terms and conditions, are obliged to achieve their metering targets as set by the Commission under the new regulation.

    investment (RoI) made by electricity distribution companies (DisCos) on meters in their networks. It added that under the new regulation, customer classes shall be amended to ensure that they only pay for meters when a meter is physically installed in their premises.

    “The electricity bill of customers provided with a meter under the new regulatory framework shall comprise of two parts – energy charge and metering service charge.

    “The payment of metering service charge will be removed from the customer electricity bill upon the full amortisation of the meter asset over its useful life. All faulty meters are expected to be repaired or replaced free of charge within two working days, except in instances where it is established that the customer is responsible for the damaged meter.

    “In pursuit of promoting local content, the new MAP regulation mandates the investors to acquire a minimum of 30 per cent of their metering volume from indigenous meter manufacturers. This local content threshold may be adjusted by the Commission from time to time in line with the verified manufacturing volume of local manufacturers.

    “The 11 electricity distribution companies are expected to, within 120 days from the effective date of the regulation; engage the services of MAPs towards the achievement of their three-year metering targets prescribed by the Commission.

    “The performance of Meter Service Providers shall be governed by the provisions of the Meter Asset Regulation, technical codes of the electricity industry, and a Meter Services Agreement/Service Level Agreement signed with the distribution companies,”the statement added.

     

  • NERC Board’s absence stalling regulatory activities

    THE failure of the Federal Government to reconstitute the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) Board, two years after it was dissolved, is affecting the sector, The Nation has learnt.

    It was gathered that this had made it difficult for officials of the Commission to carry out some of its oversight functions, including monitoring the 11 power distribution companies (DisCos).

    At the moment, the Commission has no chairman. It was for this that the government directed that the vice chairman take charge.

    National Electricity Distributors (ANED) Director of Research and Advocacy, Association, Mr. Sunday Oduntan, said the absence of a Board for NERC was affecting regulatory activities.

    He told The Nation that critical issues, such as payment of the debts owed the Ministries Agencies and Departments (MDAs) by the government, metering and poor power supply, would have been addressed, if a Board was in place.

    He said since the dissolution of Dr. Sam Amadi-led Board two years ago, activities, especially   regulation, had suffered. He, therefore, urged the government to reconstitute the Board to breathe life into the sector.

    Oduntan said problems arising from the drafting of new regulations for the electricity distributors would not have arisen, if the Board of NERC had been reconstituted. The absence of a Board, he further explained, has made the sector not to operate optimally.

    Meanwhile, further investigation by The Nation revealed that there is an ongoing draft regulation process in the NERC. Draft regulation is a set of policies formulated to guide the activities of key stakeholders, such as the power generation companies (GenCos), power distribution companies (DisCos), the metering service providers, among others.

  • NERC reviews penalties for electricity theft, others

    NERC reviews penalties for electricity theft, others

    The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has reviewed penalties for electricity theft, meter by-passing and other bad practices.

    The Commission said this would deter people from committing offences such as meter-tampering and theft.

    It said it  had been getting complaints from the power distribution companies (DisCos).

    In a circular titled: “Order on unauthorised access, meter tampering and by-pass” Order Number: NERC/REG/41/2017, jointly signed by the Commission’s Vice Chairman, Sanusi Garba and its Commissioner, Legal, Licensing & Compliance, Dafe C. Akpeneye, the Commission ordered DisCos to disconnect unauthorised distribution networks and impose a fine on the perpetrators.

    NERC added that any customer that tampered with a meter or  bypassed one would pay for the reconnection and other administrative charges.

    “Discos are authorised to back-bill customers who gain unauthorised access to electricity at the prevailing tariff of the customer for the established period of the unauthorised access,” it said.

  • 61% hike in electricity tariff: Civil society, NERC draw battle line

    Indications are that the civil society, the organised labour  and the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) are set to do battle over plans by the latter to increase electricity tariff by over 61.5 percent.

    Giving this hint at the weekend was Barr.  Toluwani Adebiyi, who led a coalition of civil society organisations under the auspices of Campaign for Democratic and Workers’ Rights (CDWR) to a protest rally in Lagos.

    The NERC had last October announced plans to increase electricity by 61.5 percent to bridge the funding gaps in the sector  and was only awaiting final approval from the federal government.

    Addressing newsmen during the rally, Adebiyi, who has been in the forefront of the agitations against tariff increase, argued that the increment is totally unaffordable considering the biting economic hardship assailing the already impoverished masses.

    The human rights activist who recalled that the electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) were yet to honour the agreements its signed with federal government in November 2013, to issue prepaid metres to all Nigeria consumers within 18 months, said, “It will amount to a rude disrespect to the rule of law to talk of increment now when the matter that touches so much on tariff increment is still pending in court.”

    Adebiyi observed that it has been incessant power tariff increments without commensurate improvement, saying Nigerians have been paying for gross darkness with no value in return for the exorbitant bill paid by consumers.

    He urged the NERC to optimise their generating capacity by ensuring that the electricity generating companies (GENCOs) generate enough power for the DISCOs.

    Besides, he advised the federal government to revoke the license of private companies and take over the sector if those private companies cannot stabilise and improve power in Nigeria after four years of privatisation.

    “The Nigeria power sector for long has been taking undue advantage of and exploiting Nigerian electricity consumers. Until the labour group and civil society organisations decided to take up and challenge their inordinate trade practices. DISCOs cannot hike tariff with the usual purpose of bringing improvements which has constantly remain a mirage, and many Nigeria communities are in un-ending blackout. Increment must be balanced with adequate supply, anything otherwise is not justified.”

    Also speaking at the event, the deputy chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Lagos state chapter, Comrade Okuneye, said the means of power sector and its agency is a challenge that all Nigerians should rise against.

    Okuneye said any further hike tariff should cost the Minister of Works, Housing and Power, Babatunde Fashola, his job.

  • Meter: Don’t blame manufacturers for shortage – Nwangwu

    Meter: Don’t blame manufacturers for shortage – Nwangwu

    The Managing Director of Sebrud Consortiums, Mr Chisom Nwangwu, an indigenous Meter Manufacturing Company, says the prepaid meter producers in Nigeria were not to be blamed for the shortage of the product for electricity consumers in Nigeria.

    Reports said that Nigerians have continued to decry the inability of Electricity Distribution Companies ( DISCOS ) to provide enough prepaid electricity meters for consumers.

    He said that the prepaid meter manufacturing firms had the capacity to meet the demands for the product.

    He also revealed that the Awka-based firm with its 400, 000 installed capacity was ready to work with the 11 electricity distribution companies in Nigeria to help to realise the Federal Government’s objective of having all customers metered.

    “Capacity is not the problem, we are producing and the products are there, we have the capacity to supply whatever is demanded by the distribution companies.

    “All that is needed is for them to contact us and place orders and they will get the meters, we are ready to work with the 11 electricity distribution companies,’’ he said.

    Nwangwu assured Nigerians that the products were of international standard having been approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission ( NERC ) and certified by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria ( SON ).

    According to him, the meters are of high quality and they have passed the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme ( MANCAP ) test of SON.

    “They are 100 per cent quality assured with 10-year warranty period, our customer service department is effective,’’ he said.

    NAN