The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has granted permits to several companies, including Golden Penny Power Limited, MTN Communications Nigeria Limited, and Havenhill Synergy, for mini-grid electricity generation.
NERC reported that in the first quarter of 2024, it issued nine new off-grid generation licenses with a total capacity of 109.69 megawatts, along with three new trading licenses.
According to the commission’s report, Golden Penny Power Limited received a license to establish six off-grid gas plants across Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, and Cross River states, with a combined capacity of 100MW. Additionally, MTN was authorized to build four captive generation plants in Lagos State, totaling 15.94MW in capacity.
Other companies, including SweetCo Foods Limited, African Steel Mills Nigeria Limited, West African Ceramics Limited, Royal Engineered Stones Limited, and Armilo Plastics Limited, were also granted permits for captive power generation.
Captive power generation permits are issued to entities that plan to own and maintain power plants for their consumption, rather than selling to third parties. In the first quarter of 2024, NERC issued nine such permits, with a total capacity of 52.57MW.
Mini-grid licenses were also granted to companies like Daybreak Power Solutions, TIS Renewable Energy Limited, Auro Nigeria Private Limited, Watts Exchange Limited, Centum Dopemu Energy Services Ltd, and DMD Electric Limited.
Under Section 165(1)(m) of the Electricity Act 2023, NERC is authorized to issue mini-grid concessions to renewable energy companies to serve specific geographical areas. These concessions outline the total electricity to be generated and distributed, along with the obligation to provide service upon request.
NERC has been actively promoting the use of renewable energy by issuing permits and registration certificates for mini-grid projects. Mini-grid developers are granted permits for systems with a distribution capacity above 100 kilowatts and a generation capacity up to 1MW, while registration certificates are issued for systems with distribution capacity below 100kW.
In the first quarter of 2024, NERC approved three mini-grid permits and two registration certificates following satisfactory evaluations.
During this period, NERC also certified six Meter Service Providers, which included four meter installers and two meter manufacturers. A Meter Service Provider is certified by NERC to manufacture, supply, or install electric energy meters and metering systems. A Meter Asset Provider, on the other hand, is authorized to offer metering services, including financing, procurement, installation, and maintenance of meters.
The certified meter service providers include Genobet Limited, Mojec Meter Asset Management, Epagad International Services Limited, Abdulrahman Ahmadu Zubairu (installers), Smart Meters Company Limited, and Crestflow Energy Limited (manufacturers).
Furthermore, NERC issued one regulation and 36 new orders in the first quarter of 2024. These include regulations such as the Eligible Customer Regulations 2024 and various Multi-Year Tariff Orders (MYTO) for both distribution companies and the Transmission Company of Nigeria Plc. Other orders addressed performance improvement plans, regulatory interventions, and issues related to estimated billing by distribution companies.
In total, NERC issued 36 orders during this quarter to guide the activities of licensed entities.
 has granted permits to several companies, including Golden Penny Power Limited, MTN Communications Nigeria Limited, and Havenhill Synergy, for mini-grid electricity generation.){kind=link}