Nigeria's rural electrification chief says a plan to create a federal renewable energy authority could raise financing and electricity costs by complicating oversight as more states regulate their own power markets.
An Oct. 15 vote sent the Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, from second reading to committee review in Nigeria's House of Representatives, Voice of Nigeria, Punch and TheCable reported. As the outlets describe it, the proposed National Authority for Renewable Energy would take over renewable energy roles held by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) and the Rural Electrification Fund. They reported that the authority would receive 40% of the fund's annual resources.
The proposal comes during a shift in how Nigeria regulates electricity. The Electricity Act 2023 allows states to oversee electricity activity within their own markets. NERC said July 22, 2026, that 16 states had completed the transition to state regulation.
Abba Aliyu, REA's managing director and chief executive officer, argued in an Oct. 19 essay that another federal authority could leave developers uncertain about which regulator handles project approvals and electricity pricing. He also raised questions about who would oversee grid connections. Aliyu said such uncertainty could make projects more expensive to finance and eventually increase costs for consumers. Those are his predicted effects, not measured outcomes.
Bill sponsor Afam Victor Ogene, chairman of the House Committee on Renewable Energy, takes a different view. A dedicated authority would give the sector clearer institutional direction, he said, according to Voice of Nigeria and Punch.
Aliyu also argued that assigning part of the Rural Electrification Fund to the proposed authority could reduce support for communities where limited commercial returns make private investment difficult. The fund's statutory purpose includes bringing electricity to unserved and underserved areas.
Separately, REA says its $750 million, World Bank-funded Distributed Access through Renewable Energy Scale-up project aims to provide new or improved electricity service to more than 17.5 million Nigerians. REA said it signed a memorandum of understanding with Lotus Bank on Feb. 23 for ₦100 billion in interest-free financing for companies awarded project grants.
The House committee's review is the next reported step for the bill.
