Federal Government and the National Assembly have reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring regulatory coordination between federal and state institutions. This is as Nigeria moves towards a multi-tier electricity market under the decentralisation of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

They made the commitment at a workshop in Abuja on ‘Legal, Policy and Regulatory Harmonisation between Federal and State Institutions on the Decentralisation of the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI)’, where stakeholders stressed the need for cooperation among electricity regulators to prevent fragmentation of the market.

The workshop comes amid the implementation of provisions of the Electricity Act, 2023, which allow states to regulate electricity markets within their jurisdictions, while raising the need for clear coordination between the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and State Electricity Regulatory Commissions.

The Special Adviser to the President on Power and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Power Sector Reset and Restoration, Rilwan Lanre Babalola, said electricity remained central to Nigeria’s industrial growth, economic competitiveness, job creation and national prosperity.

Babalola urged federal and state institutions to view the ongoing reforms as a collective effort towards building one electricity market rather than protecting separate jurisdictions.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Power, Enyinnaya Abaribe, also reaffirmed the National Assembly’s commitment to creating an enabling legal framework that allows federal and state electricity regulators to play complementary roles.

Abaribe said the success of decentralisation should not be judged solely by the number of states that establish electricity markets or receive transfer orders, but by the country’s ability to achieve an integrated and efficient electricity market.

The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, and the Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr Musiliu Oseni, also stressed the importance of harmonising regulatory and operational activities as states assume greater responsibilities within the Nigerian Electricity Market.