NERC Moves Hard On DISCOs, Demand Performance Record

In a bid to address challenges in the power sector, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has directed the Electricity Distribution Companie, DISCOs to finalise and submit their Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs).

This was revealed in the 2019 third-quarter report released by the NERC.

According to the report, the complete resolution of both the operational and technical challenges in electricity generation remains one of the top priorities of the Commission.

It said: 

“The Commission continued consultations with relevant stakeholders to develop lasting solutions to the gas impasse in the power industry. Furthermore, the Commission continues to execute a number of actionable items identified in its Strategic Plan 2017-2020 to completely resolve the technical and operational challenges in NESI.

“Pursuant to this effort, the Commission directed DisCos to finalise and submit their Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) covering 2020 – 2025 using the guidelines provided by the Commission.

“The overall objective of the PIPs is to ensure that utilities invest in projects critical to addressing the technical and operational challenges affecting their operational efficiency. Engagement of consultants to support the Commission in evaluating the PIPs has since commenced.

“The evaluation is expected to appraise the DISCOs’ proposed utilisation of capital and operating expenditure allowances for relevance and cost efficiency, the investments required by DISCOs towards addressing distribution networks bottlenecks and free up part of the stranded generation capacities and address other related constraints inhibiting the flow of energy.

“During the same period, the Commission approved the 2016–2018 minor review of the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) 2015 to determine the cost reflective tariffs, relevant tariff and market shortfalls and prescribe the minimum remittance thresholds for each DisCo in line with the allowed end-user tariffs payable by customers.”