2020 ERRA Regulatory Research Award 3^rd Best Paper

The outbreak of COVID-19 has resulted in a global crisis that countries, economies, businesses and even individual have been adversely affected by the pandemic. All over the world, Government revenues have dwindled due to lock down restrictions and most countries including Nigeria are teetering on the edge of a possible economic crises. While large businesses and small-scale businesses have to deal with the impact of the crises on their businesses, Regulatory agencies saddled with the task of regulating electric utilities have to monitor and coordinate an industry wide response that will lessen the impact and ensure business continuity for the growth and sustenance of the industry. This paper analyses the response of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. The impact of COVID-19 is evaluated to ascertain the change in demand structure before and after the critical phases of lock down nationwide and the impact on the energy billed and collected in this period.