The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has warned the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) and other licensees in Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) to desist from exchange of technical opinions and blame trading in public.
Also, the licensees were advised to apprise themselves of the dispute resolution procedure and processes provided in the Market Rules governing the operation of the industry.
The NERC warning is coming against the backdrop of chronic criticisms and blame games between the TCN and power Distribution Companies in the media over epileptic power supply and outages in the country.
Of recent, the Commission noted the unnecessary exchange of technical opinions and blame trading in the public space between the Transmission Company of Nigeria Plc (TCN) and the Abuia Electricity Distribution Company Plc on matters that border essentially on power system operation and outage management.
The Commission in a statement, said that it considered “such discourse in the arena of public opinion as serving no useful purpose towards improving quality of service to the teeming electricity consumers and the Nigerian economy in general.”
According to NERC, “It is also of concern to the Commission that, capitalisation of network utilities, an issue bordering on government policy and regulatory direction are now the subiect of campaign on various social media platforms at a time when the relevant agencies charged with the subiect matter are working assiduously towards getting the market fundamentals right for securing both debt and equity.
“The Commission has commenced an investigation into the recurring protection and relay coordination challenges between TCN and all DisCos for an independent assessment of the situation so as to ensure a lasting solution to issues militating against a sustained improvement in quality of service and reliability of supply.
“In this regard, the Commission has scheduled a meeting with TCN and AEDC at the Commission’s Hearing Room on Thursday April 30, 2020 at 10:000m on the matter.
“The Commission shall schedule further meetings with the other DisCos to address similar issues following which an appropriate regulatory instrument shall be issued providing general direction in NESI on system protection and other related matters.
“The Commission hereby directs all licensees to stop forthwith any such public display of indiscretion on operational matters in the electricity industry.
“Furthermore, all licensees are hereby reminded to apprise themselves of the dispute resolution procedure and processes provided in the Market Rules governing the operation of the industry.”
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