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President Tinubu signs 2023 Electricity Act Bill into law
President Bola Tinubu has assented to the 2023 Electricity Act which is a replacement for the Electricity and Power Sector Reform Act of 2005.
The Act will bring about the de-monopolization of Nigeria’s electricity generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity at the National level and empower states, companies, and individuals to generate, transmit and distribute electricity.
The Electricity Act was first passed in July 2022 under the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
It provides a framework to guide the post-privatization phase of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) as well as encourage private sector investments in the sector.
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Under the Act, states can issue licenses to private investors who can operate mini-grids and power plants within the state. However, the Act precludes interstate and transnational electricity distribution.
Under the Electricity Act 2023, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) will be able to regulate the electricity sector within Nigeria without prejudice to the powers of the states to make laws and create electricity markets within those states and to regulate those markets.
The Act mandates how NERC can transition regulatory responsibilities from itself to state regulators when they are established. Until a state has passed its electricity market laws, NERC will continue to regulate electricity business exclusively carried out in those states.
For now, Lagos, Edo and Kaduna states already have electricity market laws and can start regulating their market. But for other states without such laws, NERC will regulate. NERC will still carry out cross-border regulations – generation, and transmission across states will still be regulated by NERC.
The Act grants lawmakers the power to carry out oversight responsibilities and function over the NESI through its respective Committees on Power in the Senate and House of Representatives. This is to be carried out notwithstanding the supervisory powers of any government Ministry over government-owned enterprises or other entities operating in the Nigerian electricity supply industry.
