Update: FG commissions payment systems for electricity market operator, Tuesday

In its bid to ensure better service delivery in the power sector, the Federal Government, Tuesday, commissioned automated solution platform which would manage the payment process within the industry.The measure, code-named NIBBS/Power Collect, is aimed at reducing human interaction and its attendant bias in the payment process in the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry(NESI).

Chinedu Nebo,the Minister of power said a lot had gone into developing the platform,as he  urged the market participants to support the success of the project.

He said,”The visibility and the transparency that the project would bring into the industry are key components that would ensure success,adding that the initiators-the market operators have developed a world class solution for the sector”

According to Nebo, Power Collect represents technology transformation for the sector,which includes command Centre for real-time visibility to the health of the Nigeria grid,visibility into all the key infrastructure-meters,transformers,transmission lines and meters across the markets.

Ngozi Osunbo, the Managing Director of Market Operator, said that the platform is a globally accepted solution but tailored for the Nigerian market with its specific problems.

She described the solution as automated revenue lifecycle management system that will enable the market operator and all the players in the electricity value chain ensure equitable revenue collection and splitting.

She added that it would give the market operators the tools it required for market price stability, adding that it will also help Nigerian electricity regulator Commission (NERC) the tools it requires for effective regulation of the sector.

Ehinomen Oni the assistant general  manager Market Operator, while describing  the concept and functionality of the platform explained that the market operators acts as the treasury bills of the industry, adding that the whole solution is to ensure that human interaction was reduced to the barest minimum.

She said, “The market operator is the treasury bills of the industry and the market administrator. We are those in charge of determining what every player get based on energy they generate and receive based on what they collect”

So, this platform is an automated form of managing that process, because money is involved we want to minimise the human interaction to ensure that everyone in the market is satisfied and pleased with the process.

“what this is all about is that we are deploying a solution based on the Nigerian Interbank settlement system which is managed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to manage the payment system for us so that instead of us giving manual instruction or writing mandate to tell bank pay A, B, or C this or that, this automated platform will pay the money based on market performance so that there will no bias or favouritism.

And then there will be transparency and you can see this amount of money came in from this buyer
and it was used to pay these sellers on this date at this time. And then you have an archive you have a history”

All the players in the industry, the distributors, and the generators would  have their own access so that they too can connect and see the energy that entered the grid at the month of May is sold for N4 billion and company A, B, and C paid me this or that and they owe me this amount”