…As Consumers’ Clamour For SERCs In More States Mounts
As stakeholders’ desire for a more efficient, customer-centric services in the nation’s electricity market continues to gain momentum following the enactment of the Electricity Act 2023, investigations by BRTNews.ng across the country have shown that millions of the hitherto unsatisfied consumers now see the enabling Act and its strong implementation drive by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) as a desirable step with great potential for wholistic transformation of the sector, socioeconomic benefits to the consumers and on a broader scope, Nigeria’s sustainable development.
The multi-tier electricity market is anchored on the decentralization principles of the Electricity Act 2023, which replaced the 2005 Act and are further clarified in the National Integrated Electricity Policy (NIEP) 2025.
By its provisions, the legal framework authorizes states to create intra-state electricity markets, through regulatory commissions, with a view to complementing the NERC’s roles in the increasingly dynamic national wholesale electricity market.
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Specifically, the enabling Act provided for three structural adjustments in the market, namely the devolution of regulatory roles, which empowers the subnational governments to legislate, issue licenses, and set up State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) for intrastate power generation, transmission, and distribution; and the retention of NERC’s jurisdiction over interstate, transnational generation/transmission, and the national grid, while sub-national tiers manage localized distribution networks
Thirdly, the Act also provided for cooperative regulation through the creation of transitional mechanisms to govern how NERC would hand over regulatory oversight of electricity businesses to newly created state regulatory commissions in the country.
As expected, industry experts and consumers’ reactions to the legal framework’s provisions have been mixed, particularly based on the implementation level at the subnational level and how the NERC could be strengthened to ensure that subnational regulators collaborate with it in the collective drive towards a more efficient, investor-friendly electricity market in the country.
Commenting on the new multi-tier market structure and the NERC’s ongoing drive towards a fully integrated electricity generation, transmission and supply in the country, the President of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), Engr. Leye Kupoluyi, during an interview with our correspondent, rated the NERC high on its regulatory antecedents in the industry and current initiatives to guide and support the states’ regulators in order to meet customers’ expectations for improved power supply in their geopolitical jurisdictions.
Kupoluyi, a renowned electrical engineer with over 30 years of experience in power sector investments and operational leverage, said: “NERC’s role has been pivotal; it midwifed the Electricity Act, issued the Delineation of Assets and Liabilities Order guiding orderly transfer of distribution assets to state successor companies, and now coordinates transition through the newly inaugurated Forum of Nigerian Electricity Regulators (FoNER), ensuring harmony rather than regulatory chaos.”
He described the decentralization of the electricity market, which brings regulation closer to consumers, sharpens accountability for local DisCo subsidiaries, attracts state-level investment in infrastructure, and unlocks competitive, tariff-reflective service delivery as critical for industrialization and job creation as desirable , noting that states like Ekiti and Abia are already demonstrating their commitment to the market structure with fresh infrastructure investments.
The industry expert, who is also the Managing Director of Universal Power System Nigeria Limited, maintained, however, that states without functional commissions would leave their residents in regulatory limbo, with no local forum for billing disputes, metering complaints, or feedback on supply efficiency.
The LCCI President urges all outstanding states to urgently pass their electricity laws and operationalize commissions; only then can businesses and households nationwide enjoy the responsive, transparent billing and service-quality oversight the Act was designed to deliver.”
This is even as he maintained that the “NERC deserves recognition, not resistance, for the role it played in birthing this reform, from facilitating the Act’s enactment to issuing the Delineation of Assets and Liabilities Order that de-risked the transfer of DisCo assets to state successor companies, and now anchoring coordination through the Forum of Nigerian Electricity Regulators (FoNER).”
Appraising the ongoing changes in the electricity market and the impact on the economy on a broader scope, Engr Kupoluyi stressed that for the economy, decentralization remained an investment signal as state-level regulators can tailor tariffs to local realities, fast-track licensing for embedded generation and mini-grids, and give sub-national governments direct accountability for power reliability, a proven driver of industrial competitiveness and MSME productivity in states like Ekiti and Abia.
He warned: “States dragging their feet are effectively rationing investor confidence and consumer trust. LCCI advocates that every state without an operational commission treat this as urgent economic infrastructure, not a bureaucratic afterthought to unlock capital, jobs, and reliable billing nationwide.”
Investigations by our correspondent about consumers’ views on the multi-tier electricity market regime across the geopolitical zones in the country showed that they were happy with the devolution of electricity regulatory powers to their state governments and how the NERC has been using the Forum of Nigeria Electricity Regulators (FoNER) to orientate the states’ regulators on how best to handle customers’ complaints and other operational matters as they relate to power generation, transmission and supply in their domains.
In a related experience-sharing interaction with our correspondent, another customer and Vice-President South-West Zone of the Nigerian Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME) Pastor Solomon Aderoju, said the new development in the electricity market in Nigeria had long been expected given the potential positive impact on the industry and customers.
According to him, in the first instance, the multi-tier market structure “will resolve the nagging problem of inadequate power supply and enhance high-quality service delivery in each state and in the same vein, make the power sector more competitive and innovative.”
Aderoju, who said the NERC’s regulatory measures on all DisCos were built around transparency and consumer protection as it “will engender accurate billing and consumers’ protection.”
However, the industrialist maintained that as the new multi-tier market continued to take roots at the subnational level, the issue at stake would be the electricity cost to borne by consumers in each state as well as how effective the NERC, as a supervising regulatory body, will be able to ensure fairness in the tariff system nationwide.
During our interviews with some residents in Lagos State, most of them commended the NERC for its roles in facilitating the implementation of the Electricity Act 2023 at subnational level and expressed optimism that with the closeness of the state’s electricity regulatory commission to them, there will be improvement in power supply in the billing system.
A resident in Abule Egba axis of the state, Anthony Olusola, said he believed the new multi-tier market regime “is going to improve services and timely resolution of consumers’ complaints which, over the past years, remained a big problem in the electricity industry.
“Also, the issue of estimated bills will also be addressed as the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Power, NERC and other agencies are helping in the areas of free meter distribution nationwide”, he added.
Another resident in Obalende area of Lagos Island, Isaac Augustus, described the new multi-tier market as “a desirable step towards service efficiency and transparency given the fact that if a customer is wrongly billed when there is no power supply, he can take it up with the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission or use the FoNER platform to lay his complaints.
“I want to commend the NERC for the published SERC Directory which can help electricity customers, investors, and stakeholders to lodge their complaints to their state regulators such that the regulators can attend to such complaints timely to ensure fairness and equity”, Augustus added.
Similarly, while commending the NERC for championing the unbundling of the electricity market, residents of Sokoto and Kebbi states, whose states are yet to establish SERCs, have urged their respective state governments to establish the electricity regulatory commissions in line with the Electricity Act, saying the move will improve consumer protection and speed up the resolution of complaints.
The consumers, who spoke separately with our correspondent, said the absence of state regulatory commissions in their states had left electricity customers with limited access to prompt intervention on issues such as estimated billing, prolonged outages and unstable power supply.
A resident of Sokoto, Malam Ibrahim Sani, said due to lack of SERC in the state, consumers often experienced delays in resolving billing disputes and faults, stressing that a state regulatory commission will make electricity providers more accountable.
He said: “We need a regulatory body that is closer to the people. It should ensure fair billing, respond to complaints promptly and protect consumers’ rights.”
Similarly, another consumer, Hajia Zainab Muhammad, urged the Sokoto State Government to establish the commission without further delay, noting that it would strengthen public confidence in the state’s electricity sector.
In Kebbi State, Alhaji Musa Bello, said the establishment of a state electricity regulatory commission would provide consumers with an accessible platform to seek redress over poor electricity services.
According to him, “people deserve a system where their complaints are handled quickly. A state commission will help ensure electricity companies are more responsive to consumers.”
Another resident in the state, Mrs. Fatima Abdullahi, said the commission, when established, “should prioritise consumer protection, transparent billing and effective oversight of electricity operators to improve service delivery across the state.
Similarly, in Osun State where the state government is yet to establish its SERC, an electricity consumer, Mr. Tejumade Olaosebikan, recalled that timely resolution of complaint when the NERC was the only commission attending to millions of complaints daily was not easy, even though he appreciated the enormity of the work the commission had been handling to improve electricity market efficiency nationwide.
Olaosebikan, a retiree and sachet water producer at Oke Bale, Osogbo, said that many people in the state didn’t have good idea of the gains that electricity consumers will have if that regulatory body is put in place by the government.
He explained: “Recently, I read in the dailies that residents of Enugu were thanking their governor for establishing an electricity regulatory body. Many of us have our petitions before NERC, which are not being resolved quickly due to the magnitude of the regulatory commission’s roles in the centralized electricity market these past years.
“If Osun State has its own commission in place, it will help in resolving our complaints. I stringly feel that Osun State Government, without further delay, should set up its own electricity regulatory commission like other states in South West. All electricity consumers in the state should demand for it from government”, the retiree advocated.
Sharing his views on the decentralization of the electricity market, a Maiduguri, Borno State resident, Josiah Samuel, lamented that the absence of SERC in the state had impacted on him and other residents negatively and called on the government to create a regulatory commission in the state without delay.
He lamented: “The lack of a state regulatory commission in Borno has affected me in many ways. For instance, whenever there is poor power supply, unexplained billings or faults in power supply in our community, I often do not even know how or where to seek help. This sometimes makes us feel like our voice as customers do not matter.
“Prolonged lack of electricity has increased my daily expenses because I have to rely on generator or other alternative sources like solar and charging centre to charge my phones and other accessories.
“We appeal to the government to establish a Borno state electricity regulatory commission as soon as possible to protect customers right, and ensure electricity providers are in the right numbers to attend to problems. It will also create a direct channel for residents to send complains and seek solutions”, Samuel pleaded.
Reflecting on his experience since the establishment of the SERC in Akwa Ibom State, a resident in Uyo, Mr. Uduak Williams, described the electricity multi-tier market era as a welcomed development given the way the regulatory commission’s staff had been attending to customers’ complaints over the past few months.
Williams, a worker in the hospitality sector, also commended the NERC for its supervisory roles in the FoNER platform which, he said, would enable the state SERC’s officials to handle consumers’ complaints with professionalism with the attendant implications for improved electricity generation and distribution across the state.
He explained: “I can confidently say that the establishment of the SERC in our state and the support from the NERC through regulatory advice and creation of the FoNER remained a major milestone in electricity supply in the state. Yes, generation capacity has not only improved but distribution networks are extending to more communities in the state.
“From what I have observed at the SERC in the past months as I have been there once to lodge complaints about power outage in our area, customers are happy getting their complaints attended to promptly and this has been improving their confidence in the electricity market.
“I want to appeal to NERC to continue its good work by consistently monitoring the SERCs so that within the next one year, most customers will begin to enjoy uninterrupted power supply and this will encourage more investors to invest in the sector for Nigeria’s socioeconomic development”, Williams added.
As the implementation of the Electricity Regulations Act 2023 continues to create new opportunities for investors through the multi-tier market and prospects for better services to customers nationwide, a major issue our investigations have identified that will be crucial to the attainment of the objectives of the government in the electricity sector is the supervisory roles of the NERC in the emerging market space.
As it is now, and based on key assessment parameters that could be used to measure the readiness of the commission to meet play these roles, the management of the NERC appeared strongly determined to ensure that the modest achievements recorded so far in the multi-tier market are further consolidated for sustainable growth of the industry.
Giving this assurance during a recent chat with journalists, a Commissioner at the NERC, Dr. Fouad Animashaun, spoke on how the commission had been revving up its drive to ensure that customers’ rights and interests are prioritized by the SERCs in order to grow the electricity market.
Animashaun, who is an energy economist and former Executive Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer of the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission (LASERC), who spoke based on his field experiences in the power sector over the year, said that “the timeliness of attending to customers’ complaints and resolving them satisfactorily will go a long way in promoting transparency and fairness in electricity generation and distribution nationwide.
“So, we are committed to partnering with the SERCs to achieve this goal in order to strengthen customers’ confidence and attract more investors to the industry”, the commissioner assured.
It is against this backdrop that we strongly advise that the Federal Government should continue to support the NERC with more funds and other operational logistics as a strategic policy option of attracting more investors into the electricity industry, improving service delivery and billing efficiency and transparency to improve customers’ confidence with the attendant implications for sustainable development of the country.
