The Federal Government is set to develop an Integrated National Electricity Policy, and Strategic Implementation Plan, as mandated by the Electricity Act 2023.
Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, made this known in Abuja on Monday.
Adelabu made the disclosure at the Nigeria Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) “Round Table” for legislature, judiciary and other stakeholders.
Recall that on June 9, President Bola Tinubu assented to the Electricity Bill, now an Act empowering states, companies and individuals to generate, transmit and distribute electricity.
The round table was on the Enforcement of Technical Standards and Regulations in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) and Allied Industries.
According to him, the Ministry of Power is working assiduously with the National Council on Power to send the policy to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for approval.
Adelabu said that the Electricity Act had consolidated virtually all legislations in the NESI and strengthened the role of NEMSA as the lead enforcer of all statutory technical and regulatory standards.
This is to guarantee the safety of lives and property, with complementary roles assigned to other sister agencies under their Acts.
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He said that the “round table was timely, and the theme was well-informed.
Adelabu said: “It’s an opportunity for us to compare notes on the reforms recently brought about in NESI by the Fifth Alteration to the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and the re-enactment of the Electricity Act, 2023.
“It is time to take stock of where we are and where we are going. As you are all aware, it’s one of the major fallouts of the amendment to the Fifth Alteration
“I must therefore, commend the management of NEMSA for displaying leadership by recognising the vital roles played by not just the national state actors and other stakeholders in NESI, but pertinently, the legislature and the judiciary”.
Adelabu said that at the last count, not less than five states had enacted their own electricity laws and commended the legislature for their incessant resolve to bring to fruition necessary statutes with positive bearing on the lives of the citizenry
“Be rest assured that the ministry under my leadership is dedicated to leading the engagements with the state governments to maintain standards across the board to ensure that desirable reforms are undertaken and guided against regulatory rupture, ‘’ he said.
Chairman, House Committee on Power, Rep. Victor Okolo, said there was a need to ensure that all electrical installations deployed in NESI met required technical standard regulation and specification.
