A major confrontation is brewing in Nigeria’s electricity sector as State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs) have mounted a strong opposition against the proposed Electricity Act 2023 Amendment Bill 2026, warning that the legislation could reverse hard-won reforms aimed at decentralising power governance and investment across the country.

This was as the Federal Government launched a major investment-driven reform to tackle persistent electricity failures in Nigerian hospitals, targeting at least 30 per cent uninterrupted power supply across healthcare facilities by 2027 under the Nigeria Power for Health Initiative (NPHI).

In a memorandum submitted to the Senate Committee on Power, the state regulators argued that the amendment bill “threatens the constitutional and regulatory foundations” that enabled states to begin building their own electricity markets following the enactment of the Electricity Act 2023 and the constitutional amendments that expanded sub-national powers in the sector.

The regulators, representing electricity commissions and bureaux from Abia, Anambra, Bayelsa, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Kogi, Lagos, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Oyo and Plateau states, contend that the proposed amendments amount to a return to centralised control at a time states were attracting investments and establishing independent frameworks to address Nigeria’s chronic electricity shortages.

In one of the strongest criticisms contained in the memorandum, the regulators stated: “A review of the bill suggests that the general intention is to reverse the devolution of legislative, governance and regulatory powers over electricity matters that occur solely within the respective states to the state governments, in favour of a reconsolidation of powers at the federal level, with Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) retaining full supervisory powers over the market.”

They further warned that the proposed changes appear designed to preserve a system that failed to deliver reliable electricity to Nigerians despite decades of reforms and public spending.

At the heart of the dispute is Section 2 of the amendment bill, which seeks to modify provisions relating to the powers of state legislatures over electricity matters.

THE Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr Iziaq Salako, and the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed at the National Healthcare Electrification Investor Matchmaking Forum in Lagos that the reform will end hospital outages.

Salako said the initiative is designed to move Nigeria from policy discussions to investment execution in addressing energy poverty in the health sector.

“Energy poverty is holding back our reforms and slowing down our healthcare transformation agenda,” he said.

Noting that unreliable electricity remains a major barrier to healthcare delivery, affecting operating theatres, cold chain systems, incubators, diagnostics, blood banking and emergency response services, he added: “Electricity is not merely a utility in a healthcare facility. When electricity fails, healthcare delivery stagnates.”

He warned that grid instability, voltage fluctuations and rising diesel costs continue to strain hospital operations, with energy spending consuming a significant share of health facility budgets.

The minister explained that the NPHI was developed after a national stakeholder dialogue involving the health, power, finance, environment and private sectors, and has been approved by President Bola Tinubu as a national framework for healthcare electrification.

Under the new framework, he explained, healthcare facilities will no longer manage energy infrastructure directly, but will instead rely on private sector Energy Service Providers under an Energy-as-a-Service model.

In his keynote, Tegbe described reliable electricity as a fundamental pillar of healthcare delivery, noting that no health system could function effectively without a stable power supply.

“We are not merely discussing electricity; we are discussing saving lives and removing the impediment to quality healthcare delivery,” he said.

The initiative, he added, aligns with the Federal Government’s Power Sector Reforms and the Renewed Hope Agenda, providing a platform to integrate energy planning into healthcare infrastructure development.