NERC, MAN Collaborates On Improved Power Supply To Manufacturing Sector
Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), in conjunction with the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) on Tuesday inaugurated a 9-man committee on how to make power available to the real sector of the economy.
Speaking at the inauguration, NERC Chairman, Dr. Sam Amadi said the move to improve power supply to the manufacturing sector has been on the drawing board for over a year now.
He said: ‘’We have a written policy on how to support industrialization by increasing electricity supply quantitatively. The whole idea is on having a dedicated power to the industries’’.
According to him, the next stage is thinking about micro-grid; NERC will like to be the champion for this innovation and we are happy to have MAN as our partner’’ he enthused.
MAN’s President, Dr. Frank Jacob who read the terms of reference to the committee, noted that electricity challenge to industries can be surmounted if a legal framework can be provided to help the association reduce cost of production. He urged the committee to complete its assignment within a week so as to fast track further processing of engagement with the Federal Government.
The terms of reference for the embedded power generation and micro-grid for industrial clusters include; development of policy and regulatory framework models for viable and feasible micro-grid, development of business models for prioritising the financial viability of micro-grid technologies within existing framework and identifying relevant stakeholders and key interest groups and describe what they will likely contribute to the micro-grid industrial cluster initiative.
It also includes development of a framework for grid interface, evacuation agreement, purchase obligation as well as encouragement of renewable energy sources based projects. This is in addition to identifying eligible existing incentives and to design special concession for innovative micro-grid projects that converts waste to energy.
Members of the Committee are Engineer Reginald Odiah, Engineer Ibrahim Usman, Nkoli Anyam, Ijeama Ezeasor, Engineer Chinedum Ukabiala, Engineer Abdul Bello Mohammed, Dr Abdulsalam Yusuf as well as Trade and Industry representatives.