Nigeria exported N181.62 billion worth of electricity from January to September of 2024, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS has revealed in its analysis.
According to the breakdown, N58.65bn was exported to Togo, Benin and Niger Republic in the first quarter of 2024 followed by N63.28bn in the second quarter and N59.69bn in the third quarter.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC puts a cap on the electricity exportation to these countries in May in a bid to boost domestic markets.
The regulatory agency directed that power delivery to Nigeria’s neighbours must not exceed six per cent of total grid electricity at any point in time, stating that since the implementation of the April 2024 Supplementary Order, the commission had observed sub-optimal grid dispatch operation practices.
The document tagged: “Interim Order on Transmission System Dispatch Operations, Cross-border Supply and Related Matters”, explained that the directive would last for six months in the first instance before review.
NERC’s order issued on April 29, 2024, by the commission’s Chairman, Sanusi Garba, and Vice Chairman, Musiliu Oseni, became effective from May 1, 2024.
It noted that it has compromised the Distribution Companies,’ Discos’ ability to deliver on its Service Based Tariff, SBT, committed service levels to end-use customers with a significant impact on market revenues.
According to NERC, “the system operator’s sole reliance on limiting Discos’ load off-take/allocation in managing recurring grid imbalances while prioritising international off-takers and Eligible Customers, ECs is neither efficient nor equitable.”
It explained that the practice so far adopted by the operator in managing generation availability, has caused significant hardship to Discos’ customers, comprising industrial, commercial, and residential, especially during peak demands while prioritising delivery to other bilateral contracts, including exports to international customers.
The commission noted that the current international and bilateral contracts with Generation Companies, Gencos, were based on best-endeavour and with loose terms that are often below the minimum contract standards currently operated in the industry.
