…as commission presents reports of eligible customers
By Musa Adamu
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has once again assured the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) of its independence under his watch.
He said though the ministry was statutorily empowered to supervise the activities of the commission, its should be rest assured its independence would not be tempered with.
Reiterating that the law mandates the NERC to carry out its duty of formulating and impelmentqtion of guidelines and regulating the power industry, he however, said he expected the commission to carry out instruction of the ministry to the latter whenever there was one.
Speaking when he received the reports on the categorization of the eligible power customers from the management of the commission, he commended the commission for its painstaking manner it carried out the assignment.
He however, instructed the commission to ensure the implementation of the report so as to guide investors as well as customers in the industry.
He described the exercise as one of the cardinal steps towards power sector recovery.
He used the opportunity to urge the public to take whatever notice of consultation serious because, according to him, NERC does nothing without consultantation.
He also said that he was aware that the decision to categorise customers eligibility would rubb negatively on some stakeholders, especially, the DisCos and customer, but emphasiesd that he was aware of the wide consultation undertaken by the commission.
He also reminded the commission that the public was still awaiting its decision on metering, adding that he hoped to hear from the commission before the end of the month so that the industry operators would be well guided.
Presenting the reports to the minister, Vice Chairman of the Commission, Engr Sanusi Garba, said the project was in compliance with the minister’s directive for the categorization of eligible customers into four.
He informed that to arrive at the report, the commission held a number of consultations in various parts of the country.
He assured the minster that the commission was working on the metering project.
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