The Federal Government through the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has issued 13 new licences for the generation of off-grid and embedded power, independent electricity distribution, as well as for the trading of electricity.
It said the new licences were issued in the third quarter of 2023, as the cumulative quantum of electricity to be generated by the licensees was 40.9 megawatts
Under the section titled, ‘Licences and Permits Issued or Renewed,’ in the latest third quarter 2023 report of NERC, it was revealed that five new off-grid generation licences that would generate 8.81MW were issued during the review period, as well as one new licence for embedded generation of 5MW.
On other licences that were issued, the commission said, “One new licence for Independent Electricity Distribution Network, one new licence for trading, three off-grid generation licences, one embedded generation, and one IEDN licence.”
“For activities that do not require licenses based on the provisions of sections 65-68 of the Electricity Act 2023, but still require authorisation from the commission, such as off-grid captive power generation and mini-grid development, the commission issues permits to the operators following a review of the relevant applications,” the NERC stated.
Nigeria generates between 3,500MW and 5,000MW of electricity for the over 200 million people across the country, a development that has been described as poor for Africa’s biggest economy.
In June 2023, Nigeria was designated the country with the largest number of people lacking access to electricity, as 86 million of its over 200 million population were living without electricity as of 2021, according to a joint report by some international agencies.
