Edo State House of Assembly passes a bill to repeal the Rural Electricity Board Law of 1972, passes bill to liberalise electricity market

A bill to repeal the Rural Electricity Board Law of 1972 and reenact a new law that provides for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for Edo State residents has been approved by the Edo State House of Assembly, opening the door for the creation of an electricity market in the state.

The bill’s six components were all unanimously approved by the Assembly during a committee of the whole meeting on Tuesday, July 19, 2022.

The Assembly Clerk was instructed to provide Governor Godwin Obaseki clean copies of the measure for assent by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Marcus Onobun.

The passed measure calls for the deregulation of the state’s electricity market, enabling a more practical strategy for rural electrification and the development of the state’s distribution network.

With the right regulation of the state’s power industry now in place, which will give operators a more predictable business climate, the state’s electricity consumers may look forward to better days.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC) Generation License, Independent Electricity Distribution Network License, and Eligible Customer (willing buyer-willing seller) approval would allow electricity providers in the state to fully benefit from a liberalised electricity market under the new system.

The new regime that the new bill would usher in will allow operators like Ossiomo Power Company, which has a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with the government, to expand their off-grid operations, according to Mr. Nosakhare Ikponmwosa, a financial analyst and lecturer at the University of Benin.

“A lot is going to change. We will have a lot more certainty in the market as there is a state-level regulation for power operations. With this, the likes of Ossiomo Power Company which is already powering public utilities and industrial clusters would be assured of better regulation and would have the confidence to expand. We expect to see more players in the industry.”

He said that thanks to the new bill, which permits the expansion of the distribution network, concerns with access to a reliable power supply in the state are resolved, and that this augur well for electricity users.