*Company to be renamed Transmission Service Provider
Oscarline Onwuemenyi
21 May 2015, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has announced plans to consult the public before it would approve a proposal to create the Independent System Operator (ISO) from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), and renaming TCN as the Transmission Service Provider (TSP).
In a notice obtained by our correspondent in Abuja, NERC said it will also be considering inputs from the consumer public by June 2, on the limit Distribution companies (Discos) are allowed to charge consumers as estimated bills till when they are metered.
The Chairman of NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi, confirmed the content of the notice pointing out that, “The ISO is a technical and independent body that can only operate with an entity licence.”
Referring to the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA, 2005), Amadi said NERC now wishes to unbundle the TCN into a Transmission Service Provider (TSP) and an Independent System Operator (ISO). “The ISO is conceived to be jointly owned by the operators in the market and operate totally independent of government so as to be fully impartial and professional in the dispatch of energy.
“An ISO is a global model that guarantees credibility and confidence in the electricity market such that investors in Independent Power Projects (IPPs) will have no fear of discrimination in the use of transmission network,” the notice read.
While the separation process is heavily in progress, NERC said TCN has not obtained any separate licence that could pronounce the ISO and Transmission Service Provider (TSP) as separate entities yet.
He explained that NERC’s call for consultation is to create the ISO, granting it an entity licence separate from the TCN, before appointing any leadership for the agency.