…Clears 65 firms for Discos meter financing, installation
Considering the observation that several licensed power Generation Companies (GenCos) may have not leaved up to expectations, the federal government has announced suspension of further consideration of new licence applications.
This is as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has granted ‘No Objection’ to 15 other firms to participate as Meter Assets Providers (MAP) who upon engagement by the 11 DisCos will finance the installation of meters for electricity users. A previous list of the cleared MAP firms shows the commission had cleared 50 of them for onward engagement by the Discos as at June 19, 2018 to bring the total licensees to 65 companies
Business Hilights gathered that the idea to review conditions for private investors in the generation sector of the power sector value chain.
Before now, the NERC often grants licences to firms who apply to build power plants under the ‘Good Cause’ consideration which has been observed as not really rising to the needed billings.
Parts of the areas the planned review will look at include the fulfilment of the various requirements stipulated for Gencos in terms of Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA), and the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) entered with the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET).
The decision came as the commission rose from its 10th Formal Meeting of April 19 and 20, 2018 in line with the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) 2005.
It an Order No. 179/2018 signed by the Chairman of NERC, Prof. James Momoh and the Commissioner, Legal, Licencing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye, dated April 20, 2018, the commission made it clear that “no new licence application brought under the ‘Good Cause’ exceptions shall be considered by the commission with effect from 20 April 2018.”
But NERC had created a caveat to consider special applications as the Order read: “Exceptional circumstances such as policy directives by the Federal Government of Nigeria to promote a specific fuel type.
Still on the 65 MAPs, it would be recalled that in an earlier statement, NERC had said successful bidders for the procurement process shall obtain MAP permit from the commission after entering into Metering Service Agreement (MSA) with the DisCos. The MAP firms having obtained their permits are expected to provide services that include financing, procurement, installation, repair and replacement of meters guided by the MAP Regulations 2018. The 15 new firms include Briepower Renewable Energies Ltd, Joola Ventures Overseas Ltd, Bussdor & Co. Ltd, Northbridge Energy Ltd, and De-Haryor Global Services Ltd.
However, Executive Director, Research and Advocacy of the Association of Nigerian Electricity Distributors (ANED), Mr. Sunday Oduntan, in response to allegations against the group by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola that the CBN made provisions for financial supports to them, but they blocked its successful implementation with court proceedings, averred that “The Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Fund (NEMSF) N210.61bn intervention (this being the amount that is actually going to the designated recipients) has been labelled, interpreted and surrounded with various erroneous and misleading information, especially in relation to Discos.
“The intervention was a vehicle provided by the CBN to ease the beginning of the liquidity crisis that is much worse today.
