Business

FG Issues Licenses To 37 Companies To Produce 762MW Of Electricity

Published

26 September 2022

7:04 PM

Reports Reveal Why There Is Less Investment In Power Sector

The Federal Government has issued fresh licenses and permits to 37 companies to produce a total of 762.3 megawatts of electricity in order to boost power supply across the country.

Naija News reports that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) made this known in its latest Fourth Quarter 2021 Report.

According to the report, the metering of power users dropped by 71.86 per cent when compared to the number of those who were metered by power distribution companies in the preceding quarter.

The report reads: “The commission approved the issuance of four new generation licenses with a total nameplate capacity of 508.5MW and the renewal of two existing licences in 2021/Q4.

“The commission also granted an aggregate capacity of 253.75MW captive power generation permit to eight companies and approved 25 mini-grid permits.”

It stated that 46 metering service providers consisting of 17 installers, 15 manufactures, two vendors and 12 importers were also approved by the commission in the fourth quarter of 2021.

On metering, it stated that the huge metering gap for end-use customers was still a key challenge in the industry.

The report said: “A total of 81,084 meters were installed in 2021/Q4, as compared to the 288,154 meters installed in 2021/Q3.

“The reduction in the number of meter installations in 2021/Q4 was largely driven by the winding down of the NMMP (National Mass Metering Programme) phase zero.”

The commission’s records indicate that, of the 10,514,582 registered energy customers as at December 2021, only 4,773,217 (45.40 per cent) have been metered compared to 42.93 per cent metering as at September 2021.