President Bola Tinubu has signed into law the 2023 electricity bill which authorises states, companies and individuals to generate, transmit and distribute electricity.
The new electricity law repeals the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) which was signed by President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2005.
The EPSRA (2005) provided the legal, regulatory and governance frameworks underpinning the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
The new Act assented to by the president consolidates all the legislations dealing with the electricity supply industry to provide an omnibus and ideal institutional framework to guide the post-privatisation phase of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry and encourages private sector investments in the industry.
It also provides a framework for the improvement of access to electricity in rural, unserved, underserved, peri-urban and urban areas through the use of conventional sources and renewable energy off-grid and mini-grid solutions.
With the new law, states would be able to issue licenses to private investors who have the ability to operate mini-grids and power plants but such state licenses are not to extend to inter-state or transnational distribution of electricity.
Speaking on the enactment of the new act, Tinubu, during an interactive session with traditional rulers on yesterday, said the constitutional amendment permits Nigeria’s 36 states to generate electricity.
‘‘That’s devolution of power and that should be our contribution to the developmental projects you are looking for and we will continue in ways that will help our people,’’ he declared.
