NIGERIAN Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), has announced the transfer of regulatory oversight of the electricity market in Lagos State to the newly established Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission (LASERC).
This was disclosed in a statement released by the NERC on X on Thursday, December 19.
This transfer follows a comprehensive process that aligns with the requirements outlined in the Electricity Act 2023, which allows states to assume regulatory control over their intrastate electricity markets, provided they notify the NERC and meet the necessary conditions.
As prescribed by the Electricity Act (2023), the regulatory oversight of Lagos State’s electricity market is now under the jurisdiction of LASERC.
The Act mandates any state that intends to establish and regulate intrastate electricity markets to deliver a formal notification of its processes and requests NERC to transfer regulatory authority over electricity operations in the state to the state Regulator.
It also retains NERC’s role as the central regulator overseeing inter-state and international electricity operations, including generation, transmission, supply, trading, and system management.
While NERC continues to regulate national activities, LASERC will be the designated authority for Lagos’ intrastate electricity market.
Recall that the Lagos State Electricity Law 2024 was enacted and signed into law by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on December 3, 2024.
Among other benefits, the NERC’s order aims to enhance local governance over energy supply and encourage private sector investment in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital.
Sanwo-Olu emphasised that this regulatory autonomy was crucial to improving power supply reliability and attracting investments.
According to the NERC order, all transfers of responsibility, including the incorporation of subsidiaries and licensing processes, must be completed by June 4, 2025.
This timeline ensures that the transition to LASERC’s oversight is achieved in a structured and timely manner, setting the stage for the state’s full control over its electricity market.
The transfer of regulatory authority represents a significant step toward empowering Lagos State to better manage its electricity supply and distribution systems.
With LASERC assuming control, it is expected that the state will have more flexibility to tailor energy policies to local needs, improve service delivery, foster growth in the electricity sector, and attract investments which could lessen pressure on the national grid.
The ICIR reported that the state governments could attract more investments into Nigeria’s power sector and improve access to electricity in their respective states with the 2023 Electricity Act that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed into law on Thursday, June 8.
The National Assembly had, in July 2022, passed the bill leading to the Electricity Act 2023 to repeal the Electricity and Power Sector Reform Act of 2005.
The Electricity Act consolidates all legislation dealing with the electricity supply industry to provide an ideal institutional framework to guide the post-privatisation phase and encourage private sector investments in the sector.
The primary aim of the Act, as stated in its first section, is to create a comprehensive legal and institutional framework to guide the Nigerian electricity supply industry (NESI).
States like Enugu, Ekiti, and Oyo have also set up their regulatory bodies, marking a significant shift towards decentralised grid-power management which has been experiencing collapse.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.