To establish a regulatory framework favourable to consumers and investors, the Abia State Electricity Regulatory Authority (ASERA) has held a public consultation on draft regulations aimed at getting input from electricity consumers and stakeholders for the working document that will help the Authority work and achieve its objectives in the electricity sector.
At the event organised by ASERA and the State Ministry of Power and Public Utilities in Umuahia, the Commissioner for Power and Public Utilities, Engr. Ikechukwu Monday said the Governor Otti-led administration is committed to building a world-class electricity market that works for all classes of people.
He explained that the event was a demonstration of the level of transparency the government is putting into building the State electricity market.
“We are building a market where everybody will be a key player. And like they say, the customer is the king. So it’s not just the key player, but the customer, who is a very critical stakeholder,” Engr. Monday stated.
The Commissioner commended ASERA for the significant work already done in the development of the draft regulations, noting that the event is to get feedback from consumers as key players and critical stakeholders in the efforts of the Governor Alex Otti’s administration towards providing Abians access to reliable electricity as a primary and critical enabler of socioeconomic development.
He noted that the Aba Power and Geometric Group have over the last six months, deployed over one hundred and twenty thousand meters to households within their jurisdiction, noting that efforts are being made to replicate the feat across the remaining local government areas of the State.
In a keynote address, the Chairman of the Abia State Electricity Advisory Council, Dr Sam Amadi, identified public engagement as among the key areas of efficient delivery of electricity services, developing consumer confidence in the credibility and legitimacy of regulatory decisions and the speedy and fair resolution of consumers’ complaints.
In his opening remarks, the Chairman of ASERA, Mr Emeka Onyegbule, said that the public consultation is to rob minds with consumers and stakeholders in coming up with a working document that will help the Authority work and achieve the objectives of the Governor in the electricity sector.
“We have gathered to rob minds, and to also open up ourselves to public scrutiny in terms of what we are doing at the authority and what we stand as a people, as customers, to benefit from what we are doing because we know if we stay in our offices, we can make these regulations.
Contributing, the Lead Consultant-Power, Nigerian Governors Forum, Mr Odion Omonfoman, while describing the establishment of ASERA as a critical step forward for the Abia Electricity market, added that what guarantees the long-term success of such regulations is its ability to be pressure-tested by the public and its licensees.
