NISO Proposes State Technical Working Group to Advance Integrated Electricity Market
The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has proposed the establishment of a NISO–State Technical Working Group to strengthen collaboration with state and advance the development of an integrated electricity market in line with the provisions of the Electricity Act 2023.
Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NISO, Engr. Abdu Bello Mohammed, FNSE, made the proposal on Thursday, October 22, 2026, while speaking at the National Workshop on the Electricity Act 2023, held at the State House Auditorium, Abuja.
The workshop, which commenced on Wednesday with an opening session at the State House Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja, brought together stakeholders to examine opportunities and challenges in developing electricity markets at the state and national levels.
Bello emphasised the need for effective coordination between emerging state electricity markets and the interconnected national grid, noting that the success of Nigeria’s evolving multi-level electricity market would depend on cooperation among stakeholders and alignment of technical and operational arrangements.
While also proposing an annual energy planning summit involving NISO and the states, with particular emphasis on state resource assessment and electricity demand planning, he identified digitalization, standardized data management and information exchange as critical to electricity market planning and decision-making.
According to him, “ I want to propose four key areas for collective action. As an organization, we want to call for the establishment of a NISO–State Technical Working Group, the development of a national state coordination framework, the institutionalisation of integrated planning, and the adoption of a phased implementation roadmap.”
He noted that “the proposals are intended to provide a structured platform for collaboration between NISO and state-level electricity stakeholders, improve planning and coordination and advance the development of an integrated electricity market under the Electricity Act 2023.”
The NISO chief further highlighted the need for harmonized technical standards, scheduling, metering, settlement processes and emergency response arrangements to support reliable system operations and the efficient functioning of interconnected electricity markets.
Explaining further, he said that the objective was not to centralize every electricity market, but to establish effective coordination that would enable different markets to function together within a reliable and well-managed electricity system.
