The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has issued new permits to several companies, including Golden Penny Power Limited, MTN Communications Nigeria Limited, and Havenhill Synergy, for mini-grid electricity generation in the first quarter of 2024. The NERC granted nine new off-grid generation licenses with a gross capacity of 109.69 megawatts and three new trading licenses during this period.
Golden Penny Power Limited received a license to build six off-grid gas plants across Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, and Cross River states, with a combined capacity of 100MW. MTN was also granted a permit to construct four captive generation plants in Lagos State with a total capacity of 15.94MW. Other companies granted captive power generation permits include SweetCo Foods Limited, African Steel Mills Nigeria Limited, West African Ceramics Limited, Royal Engineered Stones Limited, and Armilo Plastics Limited.
Captive power generation permits allow companies to generate power for their own consumption rather than selling to third parties. In Q1 2024, the NERC issued nine such permits, totaling a nameplate capacity of 52.57MW.
In addition, the NERC awarded mini-grid licenses to Daybreak Power Solutions, TIS Renewable Energy Limited, Auro Nigeria Private Limited, Watts Exchange Limited, Centum Dopemu Energy Services Ltd, and DMD Electric Limited Lagos State. Under Section 165(1)(m) of the Electricity Act 2023, the commission can grant mini-grid concessions to renewable energy companies to serve specific geographical areas.
The NERC stated that it continues to encourage renewable energy development by issuing permits and registration certificates for mini-grid development. Permits are given to mini-grid developers for projects with a distribution capacity above 100 kilowatts and generation capacity up to 1MW. For projects with a distribution capacity below 100kW, the commission issues registration certificates. In Q1 2024, NERC issued three mini-grid permits and two registration certificates.
Furthermore, NERC certified six Meter Service Providers during this period, including four meter installers and two meter manufacturers. Certified installers include Genobet Limited, Mojec Meter Asset Management, Epagad International Services Limited, and Abdulrahman Ahmadu Zubairu. Smart Meters Company Limited and Crestflow Energy Limited were certified as meter manufacturers.
The commission also released one regulation and issued 36 new orders in the first quarter of 2024, including regulations on Eligible Customer Rules, Multi-Year Tariff Orders (MYTO) for Distribution and Transmission Companies, and Performance Improvement Plans for the Transmission Company of Nigeria. These orders are designed to guide the activities of licensees in the electricity sector.
