Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has said that seven states now control their electricity markets in accordance with the Electricity Act 2023.
The states are Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Ondo, Imo, Oyo, and Kogi. Other states, including Lagos, Ogun, Niger, and Plateau, are expected to complete their transitions between June and September.
Anambra, having recently passed its electricity law, is also gearing up to join the list.
Prior to President Bola Tinubu signing the new Electricity Act in 2023 with the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, the only agency regulating electricity in Nigeria.
The decentralisation of the sector by the Act has now given states the authority to control and regulate electricity within their domains, granting them the freedom to generate, transmit, and distribute power.
This marks a historic shift in Nigeria’s electricity governance, from a centrally regulated structure to one where states are empowered to generate, transmit, distribute, and regulate electricity within their borders and only submit to national oversight by the NERC.
Power sector operators and experts are, however, raising concerns, expressing fears and projecting opportunities as some states assumed responsibilities for regulating electricity markets within their various domains.