FG to Review NERC’s Extant Regulations

FG to Review NERC’s Extant Regulations

Sets up committee to harmonise oil, gas revenue

The federal government has commenced steps at reviewing the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission’s (NERC) extant licences and regulations to accommodate new entrants in the power generation and distribution chain.

The move is aimed at increasing competitiveness and performance in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) as relate to operations of Generating Companies, (GENCOs) and Distribution Companies (DISCOs).

The decision was contained in a communiqué issued at the end of the sixth top management retreat of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, held in Owerri, the Imo State capital, which also resolved to accelerate reform initiatives aimed at strengthening and repositioning the sector for efficient service delivery. The seminar with theme: ‘Re-Inventing Governance for National Prosperity’, also resolved to support the merger of agencies and parastatals whose functions are duplicated for greater efficiency and productivity.

The communiqué stressed the need for officers to take ownership of responsibilities assigned to them to positively affect the lives of Nigerians through efficient delivery of services.

According to the communiqué participants “advocated the importance of polite service delivery with a smile in order to earn the trust and acceptance of members of the public.

It urged participants to always be proactive and plan well ahead on how to deliver efficient services in anticipation of the impact of the rainy season on construction projects and power generation.”

The communiqué further directed the Director, Public Buildings and Housing Department to coordinate all Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to implement a uniform standard of building and facilities maintenance under the National Infrastructure Maintenance Programme.

It urged stakeholders in the ministry to collaborate and build a sustainable training culture for each sector’s growth.

Meanwhile, the federal government has also set up a committee to harmonise oil and gas revenue and production data of government earnings from all sectors of the economy.

Mr Tim Okon, Technical Adviser to the Minister of state for petroleum Resources Dr Ibe Kachikwu at the inaugural meeting of the committee in Abuja, yesterday said they would ensure that policymakers have access to reliable data.

He said that access to consistent set of data would facilitate enlightened decision to take place for growth and development.

Okon added that the petroleum fiscal consistency network was driven by three federal ministries; Finance, Petroleum Resources as well as Budget and National Planning.

He added that the team would be working with a number of government agencies to ensure the collection and presentation of accurate fiscal data.

“It would involve the different entities that are involved in collecting information or collecting revenue as the case may be and making sure that there is a consistent basis for the data collected and presented.

“The agencies we are dealing with include collection agencies such as the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, and various other entities,” he said

Okon further noted that the network would look at the manner of the workings of key sectors of the Nigerian economy and the way in which they were modeled fiscally, as well as the manner in which the results are presented to decision makers.

“The team would look at how consistently we gather information, analyse the information and how we present the result of the analyses to aid policy makers. That is the essence of the committee.

“It is part of generally, reforms in the oil and gas sector. It is consistent with reforms that are going on; whether it is enhancing economic growth or just making sure that we make decisions based on analysis of information,” he added

He disclosed that the group would provide the technical basis for estimates on oil revenue and production benchmark to be made without recourse to guesswork.

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