The Federal Government has warned electricity generation companies (GenCos) that they risk being disconnected from the national grid if they fail to implement the Free Governor Control (FGC) system across all their units.

Naijaonpoint reports that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), in an order referenced NERC/2025/094 and signed on August 26, 2025, by Vice-Chairman Musiliu Oseni and Commissioner for Legal, Licensing & Compliance Dafe Akpeneye, said the directive takes effect from September 1, 2025.

FGC allows a turbine or generator to automatically adjust output in response to frequency changes, helping stabilise the national grid.

November Deadline for Compliance

According to the order, any GenCo that fails to integrate and activate FGC by November 30, 2025, will be penalised. The penalty is set at 10 per cent of the invoice associated with each defaulting generating unit.

Furthermore, generating units that remain non-compliant for 90 consecutive days will be disconnected from the grid. Reconnection, the regulator stressed, will only occur after the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) certifies the unit as fully compliant.

NERC Cites Frequent National Grid Failures

NERC stated that the order was necessary to address repeated grid disturbances, noting that the national grid experienced eight incidents in 2024, including five complete system collapses and three partial failures.

“The incident reports filed by the Transmission Company of Nigeria Plc identified non-compliance with the provisions of the Grid Code by some generation companies as contributory factors,” the commission stated.

A performance review also showed significant failure by GenCos in activating FGC during operations.

The regulator reminded operators that section 34(1)(e) of the Electricity Act 2023 empowers it to guarantee reliability and quality of electricity supply, while section 12.6.2 of the Grid Code mandates every generating unit to be fitted with a fast-acting governor system capable of regulating turbine speed and adjusting output when frequency deviates.

“Section 12.6.2 of the Grid Code for the Nigerian Electricity Transmission System requires all generating units to be fitted with fast-acting FGC that is capable of regulating turbine speed and adjusting power output based on frequency deviation exigencies,” NERC said.

Naijaonpoint reports that as part of the directive, NERC ordered all GenCos to procure and install Grade Level 5 IoT-enabled meters before October 31, 2025. These meters must measure active and reactive power, frequency, power factor, and generator terminal voltage.

NISO is mandated to integrate the meters within 20 days of notification and carry out real-time monitoring of FGC operations. Compliance data will be tracked, validated, and submitted monthly to NERC for regulatory oversight.

Penalties for Defaulting GenCos

The order warned that penalties for FGC violations will be enforced through the market settlement system.

“Any GenCo that fails to comply with the provisions of sections 12.6.2 and 15.8.3 of the Grid Code by November 30 2025 shall be liable to a penalty of a prorated 10 per cent of the invoice associated with the defaulting generating unit.

“Where a generating unit records 90 consecutive days of FGC non-compliance, the affected unit shall be disconnected from the grid,” NERC declared.

The proceeds of the penalties, NERC stated, will be remitted to the Ancillary Service Account.