Electricity for mini-grids has been authorized by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to companies including Havenhill Synergy, Golden Penny Power Limited, MTN Communications Nigeria Limited, and others.
Nine off-grid generation licenses totaling 109.69 MW and three trade licenses were issued in the first quarter of 2024, according to the NERC. A commission report claims that Golden Penny Power Limited was granted a license to construct six off-grid gas plants in the states of Cross River, Ogun, Lagos, and Oyo.
We can handle 100 MW of power. Four captive generating facilities with a combined capacity of 15.94 MW were also authorized for construction by Lagos State and would be operated by MTN.
To create captive power, in addition to MTN, SweetCo Foods Limited, Armilo Plastics Limited, West African Ceramics Limited, African Steel Mills Nigeria Limited, and Royal Engineered Stones Limited were all given the green light.
For the purpose of owning and operating power plants to generate electricity for internal use rather than export, certain corporations are granted captive power generation permits. With a combined nameplate capacity of 52.57MW, the commission granted nine captive power generating permits in 2024/Q1.
We learned from our source that Daybreak Power Solutions, Auro Nigeria Private Limited, Watts Exchange Limited, Centum Dopemu Energy Services Ltd, and DMD Electric Limited are among the other licensed mini-grid companies in Lagos State.
Renewable energy companies can be granted mini-grid concessions by the commission under Section 165(1)(m) of the Electricity Act 2023. These concessions provide exclusive service to a specific geographical location, with the obligation to generate and distribute aggregate electricity from that site to customers who request service.
The commission issued registration certificates and permissions for mini-grid development as part of its ongoing effort to promote the use of renewable energy. Anyone planning to build, operate, or own a mini-grid with a distribution capacity of 100 kilowatts or more and a generation capacity of up to 1 megawatt (MW) can apply for a permit.
The commission has come clean about the fact that it grants registration certificates to developers of mini-grids for systems with distribution capacities below 100 kW.
“In 2024/Q1, the commission issued three mini-grid permits and two registration certificates following the satisfactory evaluation of mini-grid applications,” the NERC added.
The six Meter Service Providers—two meter makers and four meter installers—were certified by NERC throughout the time period under consideration.
Companies that produce, distribute, sell, or install electric energy metersand/or metering systems are known as Meter Service Providers by the commission. Obtaining, supplying, installing, maintaining, and replacing meters are all responsibilities that may fall under the purview of a Meter Asset Provider, an organization that has been authorized by the commission to offer metering services.
The accredited meter service providers include the following: Genobet Limited (installation), Mojec Meter Asset Management (installation), Epagad International Services Limited (installation), Abdulrahman Ahmadu Zubairu (installation), Smart Meters Company Limited (manufacturer), and Crestflow Energy Limited (energy provider).
According to the commission, 36 new Orders were issued in 2024/Q1, and one rule was also issued. Some of these documents include NERC-R-001-2024, which is the Eligible Customer Regulations for 2024, NERC/2023/023—NERC/2023/033, which is the Multi-Year Tariff Order for the Distribution Companies for 2024, and NERC/2023/034—MYTO 2024 for the Transmission Company of Nigeria Plc.
In addition, there are several orders pending: NERC/2023/035 — Order on Performance Improvement Plan of the Transmission Company of Nigeria; NERC/2024/001 — Order on the Regulatory Intervention in Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc; NERC/2024/004 – NERC/2024/014 — Order on Noncompliance with Capping of Estimated Bill by DisCos for the period January – September 2023; and NERC/2024/016 – NERC/2024/036 — Supplementary Order to the Multi-Year Tariff Order for the Discos covering February 2024.
There were 36 orders issued by the commission to licensees during the quarter.
