The Federal Government has introduced the preliminary draft of the National Integrated Electricity Policy and Strategic Implementation Plan.
This policy is designed to tackle the urgent issues facing the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry and to guide the country towards a resilient, sustainable, and inclusive energy sector.
During the presentation held on Wednesday in Abuja, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, characterized the policy as essential for the nation’s progress towards establishing a strong, sustainable, and inclusive power sector that fulfils the needs of all Nigerians.
The NIEP-SIP is a detailed policy framework that delineates strategic measures throughout the electricity value chain, encompassing generation, transmission, distribution, and off-grid components.
The minister highlighted that the policy results from thorough consultations with industry specialists, key stakeholders, and development partners.
The Power Minister said: “The journey leading up to today has been a collaborative and rigorous process, driven by our collective commitment to addressing the pressing challenges within the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.”
He said the policy framework responds to current realities and anticipates future needs, ensuring that the power sector remains resilient and efficient.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has disclosed that none of the four international bilateral customers supplied by Nigerian power generation companies made payments towards the cumulative invoice of $14.19 million for services rendered in the first quarter of 2024.
According to the report released by NERC, the four foreign companies in question are Para-SBEE and Transcorp-SBEE in Benin Republic, Mainstream-NIGELEC in Togo, and Odukpani-CEET in Togo.
These companies failed to remit payments amounting to $3.15 million, $4.46 million, $1.21 million, and $5.36 million, respectively.
The report also highlighted that none of the bilateral customers within Nigeria made any remittances against the cumulative invoice of ₦1.86 million issued to them during the same period.
Despite these lapses, NERC noted that some bilateral customers, both local and international, made payments towards outstanding Market Operator invoices from previous quarters.
A total of $5.96 million was received from two international customers, while eight local customers paid ₦505.71 million towards settling debts incurred before Q1 2024.
The commission expressed concern over what it termed “payment indiscipline” exhibited by both local and international bilateral customers.
It emphasized the need for the Market Operator, an arm of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), to invoke the market rules to address the issue.
