FG unbundles TCN, hands national grid to new company

A caller bid by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) will, successful the adjacent 30 days, make the Nigerian Independent System Operator of Nigeria Limited (NISO), starring to a divided of the Transmission Commission of Nigeria (TCN).

The order, marked NERC/2024/45, dated 30 April and signed by the Chairman/CEO, NERC, Sanusi Garba and Vice Chairman, Musiliu Oseni, respectively, stated that wrong 30 days, the TCN shall reason the recognition and mapping of the assets and liabilities for the system/market cognition information of its concern and guardant aforesaid to the Commission and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) nary aboriginal than 30 June 2024.

The BPE shall then, done the National Council connected Privatisation, reason the transportation of each the marketplace and strategy cognition assets and liabilities held by TCN to NISO.

The caller strategy operator, NISO, volition beryllium straight successful complaint of the network, particularly the troubled nationalist grid and different related marketplace contracts controlled from Osogbo.

By implication, NERC has withdrawn 1 of the 2 operating licenses held by TCN, which allows it to relation arsenic a Transmission Service Provider and an Independent System Operator.

As stipulated successful the Electricity Act (EA) 2023, NERC directed the BPE to “incorporate, nary aboriginal than 31 May 2024, a backstage institution constricted by shares nether the Companies and Allied Matters Act to transportation retired the marketplace and strategy cognition functions stipulated successful the EA, and the presumption and conditions of the strategy cognition licence issued to TCN.

“The sanction of the institution shall, taxable to availability astatine Corporate Affairs Commission, beryllium the Nigerian Independent System Operator of Nigeria Limited (“NISO”).

“The entity clause of the Memorandum of Association of the NISO, arsenic provided successful conception 16 subsection 2 of Electricity Act, shall clasp and negociate each assets and liabilities pertaining to marketplace and strategy cognition connected behalf of marketplace participants and user groups oregon specified stakeholders arsenic the Commission whitethorn specify,” the bid stated.

NISO would beryllium expected to transportation retired each marketplace and strategy operation-related contractual rights and obligations novated to it by the TCN portion negotiating and entering into declaration for the procurement of ancillary services with autarkic powerfulness producers and successor procreation licensees, among different activities.

It would besides transportation retired marketplace and strategy operations functions arsenic specified nether the Electricity Act and the presumption of its licence successful the involvement of marketplace participants and strategy users.