By AKUDORO GLORIA
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has charged operators to improve regulatory compliance in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) to meet set targets by 2025.
The NERC Commissioner, Legal, Licencing and Compliance, Dafe Akpeneye, expressed this view at the opening of the two-day fourth quarter 2024 Compliance Peer Review Meeting of compliance officers in NESI.
He said: “We have evolved as a sector; we are not where we want to be yet but we are way better than where we were last year. A lot of work has to be done but we have seen the trajectory towards compliance but we can still do better.”
According to him, NERC focuses more on compliance rather than enforcement.
“We want to move the compliance process to self-reporting. Let this be an armistice day for us all where we can set the tone for peace in 2025, ensure remarkable improvement, and demonstrate compliance improvement in the institution,” he maintained.
In her remarks, NERC Deputy General Manager, Compliance, Hauwa Yakubu observed that there are some simple compliance issues that ought to be addressed which licencees are not doing. She cited having protective gears for staff who work on the lines, stressing that these are all important in curbing the health and safety issues.
Also, NERC AGM, Consumer Affairs, Saidu Lawal delivered a presentation on Compliance Obligation for Consumer Protection stating that NERC expects various reports from the Distribution Companies (DisCos) on meter deployment, point-load connections and consumer complaints resolution.
“All these reports have timelines for submission and also timelines for resolving complaints, point-load connections, metering and compliance with the capping order. These are things we can resolve if we stick to the timelines that have been set for resolving all service issues for consumers,” said Lawal.
NERC Assistant General Manager, Market Competition and Rates, Ebehijele Edeh, in her presentation on commercial reporting obligation, noted non-compliance with the submissions of statutory reports from the licensees.
For market reporting obligations, NERC Principal Manager, MCR Agbonika Onuh, noted some slight non-compliance in the timing and format for financial report submissions from the licensees.
Engr. Nnamdi Ibe of NERC Engineering, Performance and Monitoring (EPM) Division in a scorecard on health and safety in the NESI, said there are more issues in the distribution section, and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).
NERC advised strict compliance with safety rules, optimum use of protection devices, periodic equipment maintenance, use of protective gear by the staff, and increased media and public enlightenment campaigns.
In a presentation on the Data Aggregation Platform, Musa Babagana of NERC Planning, Research and Strategy (PRS) Division said NERC has centralized its database and tasked the licensees with submitting data to the platform.
Also speaking, Muntari Aliyu of NERC PRS said the objective is to enforce market discipline and hold licensees responsible for improving operational performance and efficiency.