National Assembly To Amend Law On Electricity Supply

Nigerian legislators have approved a constitutional amendment that would allow states to supply energy in the country, ending the federal government's monopoly.

According to Bloomberg, the draft law is part of a package of legislative amendments to the country's constitution that was approved by the country's Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday.

Tweets from both chambers revealed that the majority of members of both chambers agreed to amend parts of the 1999 Nigerian constitution "to empower states to create, transmit, and distribute energy in regions covered by the national grid."

The bill, which still has to be approved by two-thirds of parliamentarians in each of Nigeria's 36 states before it can be signed by the president, has the potential to diversify the sources of electricity supply in a country known for its periodic power shortages.

“Only bills which enjoyed passage in both chambers would be transmitted to the state houses of assemblies for concurrence", Senate President Ahmed Lawan, said in an emailed statement.

While Nigeria has an estimated 13,000 megawatts of installed capacity, only 7,500 megawatts are available, and fewer than 4,000 megawatts are sent to the grid each day for its more than 200 million inhabitants.