The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) will now be referred to as the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).
“We wish to notify the public that the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) is transitioning into the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), established under the Energy Act 2019,” said the commission in a public notice posted on their Facebook Page.
The commission acquired the new name at the end of March after the Energy and Petroleum Bills came into effect.
The new law repealed the Energy Act 2006 and the Petroleum (Exploration & Production) Act (1986 revision).
The Energy Bill, 2017 consolidates the laws relating to energy, to provide for National and County Government functions in relation to energy, to provide for the establishment, powers and functions of the energy sector entities; promotion of renewable energy; exploration, recovery and commercial utilization of geothermal energy; regulation of midstream and downstream petroleum and coal activities; regulation, production, supply and use of electricity and other energy forms; and for connected purposes.
The new law creates three national agencies to handle energy matters: the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation, and the Nuclear Power and Energy Agency.
The state agencies will take over the energy sector supervisory role from ERC which was established in 2006 as a replacement for the Electricity Regulatory Board.
Key functions of the EPRA is to regulate:
(i) generation, importation, exportation, transmission, distribution, supply and use of electrical energy with the exception of licensing of nuclear facilities;
(ii) importation, refining, exportation, transportation, storage and sale of petroleum and petroleum products with the exception of crude oil;
(iii) production, conversion, distribution, supply, marketing and use of renewable energy;
(iv) exploration, extraction, production, processing, transportation, storage exportation, importation and sale of coal bed methane gas and other energy forms;
The Authority is currently in transition to fully align itself to the relevant Laws.
