Federal Govt. Cuts off firms from the national grid

By Sola Omoniyi, Lagos

Due to no adherence to electricity market rules, the federal government of Nigeria has disconnected some power firms from the national grid.

The FG stated that the National Electricity supply industry was governed by rules, which were necessary for the viability and sustainability of the sector.

The federal government stated that rules were sacrosanct and must be complied with by all sectors.

The sectors in power supply include electricity generation, transmission and distribution companies.

Dr Edmund Eje, the Market Operator, an arm of the Federal Government’s Transmission Company of Nigeria, stated in a statement issued in Abuja that some of the rules are domiciled with the market operator.

“Some of these rules are domiciled with the Market Operator, but today, adherence to the Market Rule is below expectation,” he stated

“NESI market indiscipline is one of the major factors dealing a disastrous blow to the scalability and growth of the market.

“Market Participation Agreement is signed by all participants, but complying with them is usually an uphill task for many. If the rules of every game are observed, there would be no need for sanctions.

“Currently, the Market Operator – TCN, is embarking on sanctioning erring market participants, having given them notices and time to comply with the market rules. One of the fallouts of the sanctions will be the partial or complete disconnection of defaulters from their point of connection to the grid,” he added.

However, Dr Edmund didn’t name the affected power plants.