NERC Renews NBET’s Licence for Additional Three Years

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has renewed for three years the trading licence of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc following a review of the latter’s application and corporate business plan.

The NBET was set up as an off-taker of bulk electricity distributed via the grid to consumers and its initial licence was for a 10-year period, which ended this November.

The organisation undertakes the business of managing and trading in wholesale electricity as a bulk purchaser and bulk reseller of electricity and ancillary services pursuant to the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) 2005.

Although, there has been no official statement from either NERC or NBET on the latest development, in September NERC commenced the process of renewing the resale licence of the bulk trade and started what it described as the stakeholder engagement on the matter.

NERC Chairman, Sanusi Garba, said the stakeholder engagement was being convened pursuant to sections 45 and 47 of the EPSRA and section 7 of the NERC Business Rules of the Commission Regulations, 2006.

Garba recalled that the NERC issued a bulk electricity purchase and resale licence for the maximum statutory tenure of 10 years, to NBET on 15th November, 2011 following due consideration of sections 25(a) and 68(1)(2) of EPSRA.

He explained that condition six of the terms and conditions of the licence authorised NBET to perform purchase of electricity from generation licencees, vesting or sale of electricity to distribution licensees deemed eligible and resale of electricity to eligible customers.

A source at the NBET who preferred to remain anonymous confirmed the renewal of the licence to THISDAY, saying the development took place after the nationwide consultations carried out by NERC.