Section 164 Electricity Act 2023

Section 164 of the Electricity Act 2023 is about Communication to promote the development and utilisation of renewable energy. It is under Part XVII (Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency) of the Act.

The Commission shall support the development and utilisation of renewable energy and for this purpose, take the measures stipulated under this section to increase the contribution of renewable energy to Nigeria’s energy mix —
(a) stipulate in its licensing and fees schedule, simplified licensing and fees regime for issuance of licenses to renewable energy service companies for the provision of electricity to consumers and from renewable energy sources specified under this Act;

(b) issue commercial and technical regulations for connectivity to the grid and distribution network for sale of electricity generated from renewable energy sources to distribution and trading licensees, eligible customers and other consumers;
(c) issue technical standards and certification procedures for technical personnel participating in renewable energy projects taking into cognisance the need to promote local skills and local requirements for renewable energy projects;
(d) provision of standards for power purchase agreements with specific requirements and terms for marketing and trading renewable electricity;

(e) provide regulations specifying the role of generation licensees, transmission serv-ce provider, ISO distribution licensees in the integration of renewable energy generated capacity into the national grid and distribution network:

(f) monitor and enforce compliance with renewable purchase obligations and generation purchase obligations as may be prescribed by the Commission;
(g) provision of embedded renewable electricity generation regulations including review of extant standards for solar PV, wind turbines and regulation for biomas electricity;
(h) provision of mini-grid regulations on renewable energy to cater for installation, metering, billing and other requirements, for renewable energy mini-grid systems;

(i) review extant National Content Development Regulations for the power sector to address local content requirements for local skills acquisition, local production and assembly of solar PV components, deep cycle batteries, electro-mechanical components of SHP technology, wind power, boilers and turbines for cogeneration of less than 30mw or other components as may be specified by the Commission for local contents requirements;

(j) ensure stable and long -term favorable pricing mechanism for renewable energy and facilitate unhindered access to the national grid and distribution network through the prescribed measures;
(k) stipulation of duty on the Commission and system operator to promote generation and consumption of electricity from renewable energy sources;

(l) introduction of feed-in tariffs for all small hydro schemes, all biomas co-generation power plants, solar and wind-based plants irrespective of their sizes within the terms of the tariffs to be up to 20 years to guarantee buyers under standard power purchase agreements and provide return on investments;
(m) award of license 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 obligation to serve customers to request service;

(n) provide standards and sitting guidelines for solar homes systems, stand – alone solar PV, micro hydro and wind power;
(o) ensure clarity in the market rules and offer incentives and support to independent power producers for investments in generation of electricity from Renewable sources specified under this Act;
(p) provide support to the Agency established under this Act towards efficient implementation of rural electrification using renewable energy sources specified under this Act:

(q) develop light-handed measures for awarding renewable electricity concessions for generation, distribution of electricity within 1OMWs generating electricity exceeding IMW and distributing electricity above LOOKW in aggregate at the site;
(r) provide technical specifications and codes for stand -alone solar PV, micro-hydro and wind power;

(s) issuance of renewable energy standards on installation, decommissioning and disposal of renewable energy accessories and monitor compliance in conjunction with other relevant MDAs with mandates on product safety and standards;
(t) issue guidelines on net-metering for roof-top solar PV systems, small wind power in accordance with the provisions of this Act regarding the procedure for adoption of guidelines or other regulatory documents by the Commission; and
(u) in consultation with the relevant MDAs provide regulation on energy storage to promote energy efficiency.

(2) The Commission shall for the purpose of the implementation of this Act, approve
(a) rates chargeable for the purchase of electricity from renewable energy sources by public utilities:
(b) charges for mini-grid and grid connection; and
(c) rates chargeable for wheeling of electricity from renewable energy sources.