The eligible customer policy was initiated to intervene in the deplorable electricity distribution situation in Nigeria. Recently, the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) decided to suspend it because of alleged illegalities surrounding it. The problem, however, is that billions of naira worth of investments of private sector players have gone into it and those whose resources are about to be lost have started crying foul.reports
The novel alternative electricity distribution arrangement of the Federal Government called the Eligible Customer Policy is now a subject of discord; companies that have bought into the policy are kicking against a new directive by industry regulatory agency, the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC). On July 7, NERC directed the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to suspend all Eligible Customers’ transactions, without its approval. It repeated the directive on July 30.
According to TCN, in a memorandum it issued to all Eligible Customer investor-companies on August 3, NERC informed it to cease working with the companies because they had not been issued operating licences.
TCN’s memorandum said NERC directed it to “forthwith stop all Eligible Customer transactions pending the conclusion of the review and approval of the respective applications for eligibility status by the commission”. TCN has since heeded the directive.
However, the affected companies, about 30 of them, have since been kicking against the decision of the NERC, describing it as unfair and an attempt to sabotage their multi-million-dollar investments, as well as the government’s plan to relieve the country of the endemic electricity inadequacies.
The Eligible Customer Policy, also known as the Willing Buyer-Willing Seller policy, is a provision of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSR) 2005, which gives the Minister of Power the authority to declare open the Eligible Customer Scheme. It was operationalised by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration in 2017 and piloted by the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), to take satisfactory power distribution services to consumers in different parts of the country. The then Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, declared open the Eligible Customer Policy in 2017 to begin the new phase of dispatching stranded power being generated by the Electricity Generation Companies (GENCOs).
According to him, Section 27 of the Act states “the Minister may issue a directive to the Commission, specifying the class or classes of end-use customers that, from time to time, shall constitute eligible customers under this Act”.
It was introduced at the peak of the national outcry against a rather mediocre service provision by virtually all the Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) in different parts of the country and considering the huge federal investments into the power sector notwithstanding and the outrageous bail out funds being provided to the DISCOs without improved service delivery, a national solution was needed to be implemented to rapidly change the deplorable situation.
According to sources, the template of the policy indicates that electricity consumers, who feel dissatisfied with the services of the DISCOs in their area, can request and receive alternative electricity distribution services from any of the available Eligible Customer vendors in their area, if their power requirement is over 2 Megawatts.
Some of the companies that have made this investment include We Wood, Persepolis Energy, Sun Flag Steel, Abuja Steel, Kam Industry Nigeria Limited, Lord’s Mint Technologies, Smart Power Systems and many others, including the two largest companies under this policy, Mainstream Energy Solutions and Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC), which are the largest investors and players under the Eligible Customer Policy.
Source: The Nation
