A bill seeking to establish the National Authority for Renewable Energy to regulate, coordinate and promote the development and utilisation of renewable energy in Nigeria has scaled second reading at the House of Representatives
The Electricity Act (Amendment) bill, sponsored by Afam
Ogene, chairman of the House Committee on Renewable Energy, seeks to strip the
Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Rural Electrification
Agency (REA) and the Rural Electrification Fund (REF) of their renewable
energy-related powers and transfer the functions to the proposed authority.
The bill passed its second reading during Thursday’s plenary
after lawmakers debated it.
Ogene told lawmakers that the proposed legislation would
address institutional gaps in the electricity sector and provide a dedicated
regulatory framework for renewable energy development.
He identified specialised regulation, rural electrification,
investment and employment generation, energy diversification, consumer
protection and institutional funding as key objectives of the bill.
The legislator said the proposed authority would promote
mini-grid and off-grid electricity systems in remote, unserved and underserved
communities, while encouraging local production, research, technological
innovation and capacity development.
He said the legislation would also establish provisions for
tariffs, licensing, operating standards, compliance monitoring and dispute
resolution.
The bill sparked divergent views among legislators, with
supporters arguing that a dedicated renewable energy regulator would address
gaps in oversight and strengthen the sector, while opponents warned that the
proposed authority could duplicate existing functions and increase governance
costs.
Victor Nwokolo, chairman of the house committee on power,
rejected the bill, questioning the rationale for the proposal to remove
renewable energy regulation from NERC at a time when the country was seeking to
streamline government institutions.
Nwokolo noted that the Electricity Act 2023 had empowered
subnational governments, including local governments, to establish their own
electricity generation, distribution and marketing systems.
The lawmaker said he had recently participated in
discussions at the power ministry on amending the Electricity Act to establish
uniform regulatory standards.
He argued that creating a separate authority for renewable
energy could complicate regulatory coordination and undermine efforts to reduce
governance costs.
Ahmadu Jaha, an APC lawmaker from Borno, concurred with
Nwokolo, describing the proposed authority as a potential duplication of
existing regulatory functions.
Jaha noted that separating renewable energy regulation from
conventional electricity regulation could create confusion in the sector,
particularly since existing institutions had already been engaging with
lawmakers on regulatory reforms.
However, Ibrahim Almustapha, lawmaker from Sokoto, supported
the bill, stating that renewable energy regulation suffered from significant
oversight gaps that warranted a dedicated institution.
Almustapha said the growing participation of subnational
governments in electricity provision had exposed capacity deficiencies that a
specialised regulator could help address.
Mark Esset, an APC member from Akwa Ibom, also backed the
bill, saying decades of electricity supply challenges underscored the need for
fresh approaches to regulation and energy development.
Esset said the growing adoption of renewable energy by
households and businesses made it necessary to establish clear rules and
standards to guide the sector’s expansion.
He rejected the argument that the proposed authority would
undermine NERC, contending that the bill was consistent with broader efforts to
decentralise electricity regulation, generation and distribution.
Lawmakers overwhelmingly voted in support of the bill when
Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house, called for a voice vote.
A recent report by Ember, an energy think tank, projected
that Nigeria will install 1.7 gigawatts (GW) of solar power in 2026.
In the report released on August 27, titled ‘The take-off in
African solar that official statistics can’t yet see’, Ember estimated that the
continent will install a record 17GW of solar capacity in 2026 — a 45 percent
increase from 2025.
Last month, the federal government backed away from plans to
immediately ban the importation of solar panels.
Kingsley Udeh, minister of innovation, science and
technology, announced the position following concerns from business leaders and
renewable energy advocates that an immediate ban could increase costs and
undermine access to clean energy.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com