States reject senate bill to amend Electricity Act

The Forum of Commissioners of Power and Energy in Nigeria (FOCPEN) has kicked against the Senate-proposed Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill 2025.

The forum spoke through a statement jointly signed by Prince Eka Williams and Omale Omale, chairman and secretary.

Williams, Commissioner for Power and Renewable Energy in Cross River State, and his counterpart in Benue, Omale, expressed surprise and concern over the ongoing deliberation in the Senate on the bill.

The group expressed dismay that the Senate was deliberating to amend the landmark law enacted barely two years ago and over 16 states have already adopted it.

“This unexpected legislative move comes barely two years after the landmark Electricity Act 2023 was signed into law.

“During this period, many states have begun to establish and operationalise their electricity markets under the new decentralised framework.

“More than 16 states have passed their electricity laws since the enactment of the Electricity Act in 2023 and signed by President Bola Tinubu.

“FOCPEN notes with dismay the absence of any prior consultations with state governments or their relevant commissioners and state electricity regulatory bodies during the drafting and presentation of this crucial amendment bill on the floor of the Senate.

“This oversight is particularly concerning given the significant strides made in decentralising Nigeria’s electricity sector,” they said.

According to them, the Electricity Act 2023 stands as a signature achievement of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.

They said the enactment followed the groundbreaking fifth alteration to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which decisively removed all ambiguities regarding the ability of states to make laws and regulate electricity markets within their territories.

They further regretted that the sudden move by the Senate would completely destroy their early efforts in the power sector and bring the country further backward.

“It is, therefore, surprising that within two years of its passage, the Electricity Act 2023 is now subjected to a sweeping amendment of key provisions of the Act, without any consultation whatsoever with the state governments or their regulatory institutions.

“This unilateral approach undermines the spirit of cooperative federalism and threatens to reverse the gains made in decentralising Nigeria’s electricity sector,” they said.

FOCPEN firmly believed that this is not the opportune time for an amendment to the Electricity Act 2023, as the Act is still in its early implementation phase. It took 18 years for the National Assembly to amend/repeal the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) passed in 2005 under President Olusegun Obasanjo.