03 September 2013, Abuja – The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has stated its readiness to advise the ministry of power to declare the Nigerian Transition Electricity Market, TEM, open for operation without further delays.
NERC has also pledged to enforce full compliance with safety and health regulations in the power sector especially with the imminent takeover of operations by private owners of successor generation and distribution companies created from the unbundling of Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN.
In view of the federal government’s efforts to meet up with Condition Precedents, CPs, to declaring open the TEM, especially the settlement of all labour related issues, NERC last Thursday in Abuja directed the operator of the Nigerian Electricity Market, ONEM, also known as the Market Operator, MO, to quickly conclude all outstanding CPs that concern it to allow for the declaration of TEM.
Speaking at a forum organised by the MO department of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, NERC’s General Manager for Market Rates and Tariff, Abdulkadir Shettima, instructed the operator commence the formal registration of participants in Nigeria’s Electricity Supply Industry, NESI, noting the commission was waiting on the achievement of these CPs to ask the ministry to declare the TEM.
Specifically, he requested the MO to hasten up its execution of the market participation agreements within one week to allow the TEM takeoff, adding that the market operations system regulations, market settlement system, application for admission processes and procedures for registration of market participants as well as system operations and procedure amongst others were yet to be executed.
Similarly, Shettima disclosed the commission was yet to receive the half year operational report of TCN, and asked the transmission company to provide it with its half year operational report, to avoid possible instances of contravening extant regulations in the sector.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, has stated that health and safety indicators within NESI showed that about 88 per cent compliance had been achieved as against the internationally required 100 per cent compliance.
Amadi stated the commission would continue to insist on full compliance with health and safety rules, adding that managers of operations in the sector must work to attain a zero level accident occurrence.
The NERC Chairman gave the charge when industry health and safety managers in NESI met with the Engineering, Standards and Safety Division of NERC to review the industry performance with regards to adherence to safety regulations.
The quarterly meeting was also attended by NERC’s Commissioner for Engineering Standards and Safety, Mary Awolokun, who equally disclosed that about 59 deaths and 64 injuries were recorded within the period under review.
Awolokun explained that such accidents that resulted in the deaths and injuries could have been avoided with diligent adherence to safety regulations within the sector.
– Chineme Okafor, This Day