No fewer than 14 states in the country has been granted provisional regulatory oversight by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC to regulate their electricity market.
This is part of the ongoing deregulation of the power sector by the federal government, according to sources familiar with the issue, who said the sector will be better off if state can produce and sell electricity to consumers without making a recourse to the central government.
Recall that the power sector was initially under the exclusive list of the federal government until the National Assembly passed the 2023 Electricity Act, which gave the federal and states concurrent powers to regulate the sector.
Following the enactment of the Act state government now has powers to generate and transmit electricity in their various states
The NERC said on its X handle on Monday that fours states Enugu, Ekiti, Ondo, and Imo, are now fully responsible for the regulation of their electricity markets.
The commission further said 10 states Ekiti, Enugu; Ondo; Imo; Oyo; Edo; Kogi; Lagos; Niger; and Ogun are awaiting final approval to take over the oversight of the electricity market in their domains.
NERC stated: “As of January 10, 2025, #NERC has commenced the transfer of regulatory oversight to 10 states. Once the transfers are complete, the states will be responsible for regulating their electricity markets.
“The 10 states are: Enugu; Ekiti; Ondo; Imo; Oyo; Edo; Kogi; Lagos; Ogun; and Niger.
“The transfers have been completed for four states, namely Enugu, Ekiti, Ondo, and Imo, while six states are still in progress.”
