The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has issued permits to MTN Communications Nigeria Limited, Golden Penny Power Ltd, Havenhill Synergy and other firms to generate mini-grid electricity.
The Commission disclosed that it issued nine new off-grid generation licences in the first quarter of 2024 with a gross capacity of 109.69 megawatts and three new trading licences.
According to a report by the Commission, MTN was granted a permit to build four captive generation plants across Lagos State with 15.94MW capacity, while Golden Penny Power Ltd got a licence to build six off-grid gas plants in Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, and Cross River states with a total capacity of 100MW.
Also, Armilo Plastics Ltd, SweetCo Foods Limited, African Steel Mills Nigeria Limited, West African Ceramics Limited and Royal Engineered Stones Limited were permitted to generate captive power.
“Captive power generation permits are issued to entities that aim to own and maintain power plants for generating power for consumption and not for sale to a third party. The commission issued nine captive power generation permits in 2024/Q1 with a total nameplate capacity of 52.57MW,” the report said.
D’GalleryTV gathered that other licensed companies for mini-grids, include Daybreak Power Solutions, TIS Renewable Energy Limited, Auro Nigeria Private Limited, Watts Exchange Limited, Centum Dopemu Energy Services Ltd, DMD Electric Limited, Lagos.
A report said that a permit is issued to a mini-grid developer for construction, operation, maintenance and where applicable ownership of mini-grids with distribution capacity above 100 kilowatts and generation capacity up to 1MW.
The commission disclosed that it issues registration certificates to a mini-grid developer for one or more systems with distribution capacity below 100kW.
“Following the satisfactory evaluation of mini-grid applications, the commission issued three mini-grid permits and two registration certificates in 2024/Q1,” the NERC stated,” it said.
The NERC stated that during the period under review, it certified six-meter device providers, including four-meter installers and two-meter manufacturers.
Section 165(1)(m) of the Electricity Act 2023 permits the commission to award licence of mini-grid concessions to renewable energy companies to exclusively serve a specific geographical location indicating aggregate electricity to be generated and distributed from a site with the obligation to serve customers to request service.
Under this, the commission said it had continued to encourage the development and utilisation of renewable energy by issuing permits and registration certificates for mini-grid development.
The commission said that it issued 36 orders to guide the activities of licencees during the quarter.
