Senate passes bill for states, individuals to generate electricity

States and individuals interested in generating and distributing electricity now have the legal backing to do so as the Senate on Wednesday passed the Electricity Bill 2022.

Chairman of the Senate committee, Gabriel Suswam (PDP, Benue), said, “Since electricity is on the concurrent list in the constitution, the bill has allowed state governments to license people that intend to operate mini-grids within the states.

He said, “The bill also gives legal backing to renewable energy. If you decide to generate one megawatt of power using solar as an energy source, that is also provided for.

“That is the only way the power problem would be solved. The space is now open; there is little restriction as to who can generate power and distribute.

“What is obtainable now is that any power that is generated must be put on the national grid for transmission and distribution.”

The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, during the consideration of the bill, sought to know the role and operational capacity of banks that had taken over Distribution Companies (DisCos) indebted to them.

Responding, Senator Suswam explained that the takeover of the DisCos by banks was duly carried out in collaboration with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).

He also said the Federal Government had disbursed $100m to Siemens to kick-start transmission in the distribution end of the power sector.