In a bid to bolster the country’s domestic power supply, the Nigerian government has taken measures to limit electricity sales to neighboring countries including Benin Republic, Togo, and Niger.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has instructed the Transmission Company of Nigeria’s System Operator (SO) to cap power supply to these three neighboring nations at six percent.
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This directive, effective from May 1, 2024, for a duration of six months, aims to address concerns about sub-optimal grid dispatch practices that have adversely affected the ability of Distribution Companies (DisCos) to meet their service tariff commitments to end-users.
The decision, outlined in an order titled ‘Interim Order on Transmission System Dispatch Operations, Cross-border Supply, and Related Matters,’ was jointly signed by the Chairman of NERC, Sanusi Garba, and Vice Chairman, Musiliu Oseni.
NERC emphasized the need to enhance transparency and fairness in grid operations, highlighting the imbalance caused by prioritizing international off-takers and Eligible Customers over domestic obligations. Many off-takers contracted bilaterally by Generation Companies (GenCos) have been found to exceed their contracted levels during peak operations without facing penalties.
To address these challenges, NERC’s order mandates the development and implementation of a pro-rata load-shedding scheme to ensure equitable load allocation to all off-takers during generation drops or grid imbalances.
The system operator is required to enforce penalties for violations of grid instructions and contracted nominations, while also limiting the aggregate capacity nominated by generating plants to international off-takers.
Furthermore, NERC has directed the installation of integrated Internet of Things (IoT) meters at all off-take and delivery points to provide real-time visibility of aggregate offtake by grid customers.
This initiative aims to enhance monitoring and ensure compliance with regulations governing electricity distribution and exports.
