The National Assembly has announced plans to amend the 2023 Electricity Act, with the aim of designating the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) as the sole regulatory authority responsible for enforcing technical standards and regulations in the power sector.
This disclosure was made by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Eyinnaya Abaribe, during the fourth edition of The Stakeholders Roundtable for the Enforcement of Technical Standards, Regulations, and Mandates, held on Tuesday in Abuja.
The 2023 Electricity Act, which President Bola Tinubu signed into law last year, replaced the Electricity and Power Sector Reform Act of 2005. The new law facilitated the de-monopolization of Nigeria’s electricity generation, transmission, and distribution sectors, granting states, companies, and individuals the authority to generate, transmit, and distribute electricity. It also empowered states to issue licenses to private investors for operating mini-grids and power plants.
However, some states have gone against the law by approving the establishment of their own technical and safety standards, which overlap with NEMSA’s areas of responsibility. In his address, Abaribe explained that the forthcoming amendment to the 2023 Electricity Act will clearly prohibit states from enforcing technical standards. He emphasized that the current law does not authorize states to take such actions.
Abaribe underscored the importance of federal law taking precedence over state laws in this matter, warning that a clear legal framework is essential to prevent arbitrary setting of technical standards by individuals or groups outside the federal oversight.
