Three multinationals have been granted permits to generate electricity by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The three multinationals include Golden Penny Power Limited, MTN Communications Nigeria Limited, Havenhill Synergy, and others for mini-grid electricity generation.
NERC also disclosed that it issued nine new off-grid generation licences in the first quarter of 2024 with a gross capacity of 109.69 megawatts and three new trading licences.
According to a report by the commission, Golden Penny Power Limited received a licence to build six off-grid gas plants in Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, and Cross River states. The total capacity is 100MW.
Telecommunications giant MTN was granted a permit to build four captive generation plants across Lagos State with 15.94MW. Aside from MTN, SweetCo Foods Limited, African Steel Mills Nigeria Limited, West African Ceramics Limited, Royal Engineered Stones Limited, and Armilo Plastics Limited were permitted to generate captive power.
“Captive power generation permits are issued to entities that aim to own and maintain power plants for generating power for consumption and not for sale to a third party. The commission issued nine captive power generation permits in 2024/Q1 with a total nameplate capacity of 52.57MW.”
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According to reports, other licensed companies for mini-grids are Daybreak Power Solutions, TIS Renewable Energy Limited, Auro Nigeria Private Limited, Watts Exchange Limited, Centum Dopemu Energy Services Ltd, and DMD Electric Limited Lagos State.
Section 165(1)(m) of the Electricity Act 2023 permits the commission to award licenses of mini-grid concessions to renewable energy companies to exclusively serve a specific geographical location indicating aggregate electricity to be generated and distributed from a site with the obligation to serve customers who request service.
Under this, the commission said it has continued to encourage the development and utilisation of renewable energy by issuing permits and registration certificates for mini-grid development.
A permit is issued to a mini-grid developer for the construction, operation, maintenance, and, where applicable, ownership of mini-grids with distribution capacity above 100 kilowatts and generation capacity up to 1MW.
The commission disclosed that it issues registration certificates to a mini-grid developer for one or more systems with distribution capacity below 100kW.
“Following the satisfactory evaluation of mini-grid applications, the commission issued three mini-grid permits and two registration certificates in 2024/Q1,” NERC stated.
During the period under review, NERC certified six Meter Service Providers, including four-meter installers and two-meter manufacturers.
A Meter Service Provider is an entity certified by the commission as a manufacturer, supplier, vendor, or installer of electric energy meters and/or metering systems.
A Meter Asset Provider is an entity that is granted a permit by the commission to provide metering services with roles that may include meter financing, procurement, supply, installation, maintenance, and replacement.
The certified meter service providers are Genobet Limited (installer), Mojec Meter Asset Management (installer), Epagad International Services Limited (installer), Abdulrahman Ahmadu Zubairu (installer), Smart Meters Company Limited (manufacturer), and Crestflow Energy Limited (manufacturer).
The commission also said it issued one regulation and 36 new orders in 2024/Q1. They include NERC–R–001–2024 — Eligible Customer Regulations, 2024; NERC/2023/023—NERC/2023/033 — Multi-Year Tariff Order 2024 for the Distribution Companies; and NERC/2023/034 — MYTO 2024 for the Transmission Company of Nigeria Plc.
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