- The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has directed that Distribution companies (Discos) must be compensated by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) if it fails to allocate to them their due load as a result of transmission inefficiencies.
- The latest directive referenced: “Order Number NERC/139 on Imbalance Application Mechanism (IAM),”yesterday, spelt out sanctions for the Transmission Service Provider (TSP) and the 11 Discos.
- NERC said imbalances occur when power supplied to a Disco is either in excess or in deficit of the percentage of capacity allocated to it based on the load allocation formula, highlighting the need for the IAM to ensure compliance in load allocation.
- Recall that Abuja Disco had in June said it paid over eight billion naira as penalty for taking excess power beyond its allocation since November 2013, a situation it described as frustrating in its bid to satisfy its customers.
- However, the Order signed by NERC Chairman, Dr Sam Amadi, dated July 30, 2015, said: “Every Disco is obligated to receive load as directed by the System Operator (SO), even beyond its statutorily allocated load, at any time. This additional load will not attract penalty.
” It added that the SO must gauge the Disco’s network capacity to take the excess power requiredPlacing a benchmark of 4,500 megawatts daily peak power generation, the NERC Order said: “In the case where a Disco cannot take its allocated load due to transmission constraints, the Transmission Service Provider (TSP) will take financial responsibility for the payment of compensation to the Disco that did not receive its allocated load.”
- Source:Daily Trust