The Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) and Energy Exchange Istanbul (EXIST) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to boost commercial transactions and investments in Nigeria’s power sector.
The partnership will help Nigeria improve commercial transactions and revenue collections in the country’s power sector through cutting edge technologies with attendant investment inflows into the sector.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by the Nigerian Minister of Finance and Chairman of NBET Board of Directors, Zainab Ahmed; Chief Executive Officer of NBET, Dr Nnaemeka Ewelukwa; and EXIST’s Chief Executive Officer, Ahmet Türkoglu.
While Nigeria’s power generation has been stagnating at below 5,000MW due to multiplicity of challenges, Turkey boasts a generation capacity of 100,000MW, ranking as Europe’s sixth largest electricity market and the 14th largest in the world.
Approximately 54% of the European nation’s power generation capacity comes from renewable energy, including hydroelectric, wind, solar, geothermal and biomass power plants, making it the sixth largest generator of renewable energy in Europe and the 12th largest in the world.
NBET working on ways to set up cross-border electricity trade
The country is advanced in electricity infrastructure and cross-border trading, hence the optimism about the opportunities presented to Nigeria by the new partnership, especially as the Government of Turkey has shown keen interest in strengthening bilateral relations between both countries.
Speaking at the agreement signing ceremony, Ahmed stated that Nigeria wanted to establish a solid electricity market like Turkey by providing the necessary transformation in the country.
“EXIST has reached an admirable stage. We also want to establish electricity markets by providing the necessary transformation in our country. We want to cooperate with you on this journey by walking hand in hand,” the Minister stated.
Commenting on the deal, Ewelukwa expressed optimism that the cooperation agreement with EXIST would go a long way in re-positioning NBET for enhanced performance in the Nigerian electricity market and consolidate on its accomplishments.
“The key aspects of the cooperation would see NBET strategically leveraging on cutting edge technology to chart a new course in its commercial transactions in the electricity market. It will ultimately pave the way for more power investments in the country and deepen competition in the market, with greater value delivery to participants in the market,” he said.
Scaling up renewable energy investments in Nigeria
According to Ewelukwa, NBET would also work with EXIST to develop a framework to scale up sustainable investments in renewable energy in line with the federal government’s commitment to diversify the country’s energy mix and transition to a low-carbon economy.
The cooperation agreement covers the transfer of experience and business knowledge, and the design of a functional trading structure for the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
“With this partnership, the NESI can leverage EXIST’s experience towards the design and implementation of policy frameworks that will ramp up energy solution to the manufacturing sector and other vital economic sectors towards increasing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Nigeria and improving living conditions of its people.
“The agreement also aims to liberalise the current market in Nigeria; simultaneously, for the cooperation, the parties have agreed to establish a partnership to support the optimisation of NBET’s current energy portfolio and identify sustainable means to scale up energy generation and supply in Nigeria.
“Concerning areas of cooperation, the parties also agreed to ensure knowledge development and share cross-visits to learn from each other’s experiences. Both parties have committed to further research and development in relevant areas that are beneficial for enhancing the energy sector in Nigeria,” said Ewelukwa.
In addition, EXIST shall also assist NBET in the design and implementation strategy and plan that would enable optimal bulk electricity trading that adopts a least cost trading model for energy efficiency. However, in fulfilling the conditions, the partners said EXIST shall assist NBET in studying the Turkish experience and energy transition to adapt successfully to the Nigerian context.
