The Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) and the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) have raised fresh concerns over 2,000 megawatts of stranded generation capacity, frequent plant shutdowns, and mounting cybersecurity risks amid Nigeria’s push towards a digitalised electricity grid.
Speaking at an engagement between the management teams of NDPHC and NISO in Abuja, stakeholders insisted that there is an urgent need to optimise idle power generation assets, deepen collaboration, and ensure a balanced regulatory approach, especially in light of operational constraints faced by government-owned generating companies.
The Managing Director of NDPHC, Engr. Jennifer Adighije, who led her team on a working visit to NISO, emphasised the importance of forging a strong, collaborative relationship under the newly inaugurated NISO leadership.
She urged a more nuanced understanding of the bureaucratic limitations that government-owned power firms often encounter.
Although not focused on grievances, the NDPHC chief called attention to the disparities in treatment between public and private generation companies, urging NISO to reflect the company’s vast contributions to Nigeria’s transmission infrastructure when issuing directives or enforcing compliance.
Adighije noted that the implementation of the Electricity Act had further elevated NISO’s role, particularly in shaping the evolving energy market. She stressed the need for regulatory fairness and called for greater sensitivity to the procedural bottlenecks public firms face, particularly in procurement and financial approvals.
NISO’s Managing Director, Abdul Bello Muhammed, acknowledged the scale of untapped generation from NDPHC plants, many of which remain underutilised despite having a combined installed capacity exceeding 5,000MW. He noted that actual output often fluctuates between 500MW and 800MW, far below potential, and described the situation as economically wasteful.
Muhammed, who had been part of the original design and rollout of the National Integrated Power Projects (NIPP), commended NDPHC’s infrastructure footprint but stressed the need for better alignment with current energy priorities.
He pointed to upcoming initiatives under the West African Power Pool (WAPP), including grid synchronisation tests slated for later in the year, which could enable regional power exports, if Nigeria’s domestic output is efficiently harnessed.
Among other pressing issues, NISO highlighted the urgent need for real-time monitoring through full SCADA integration across all GENCOs. While acknowledging that many plants have SCADA capabilities, some now obsolete, he confirmed ongoing efforts to rehabilitate and upgrade the existing system while introducing new Internet of Things (IoT) and Phasor Measurement Unit (PMU) technologies.
He stressed that NISO would enforce merit-based dispatch through a revised Economic Merit Order Dispatch system and insisted that gas source or ownership status would no longer be grounds for dispatch exclusion.
He also addressed the recurring issue of frequent start-stop cycles, warning of their detrimental impact on generating units and suggesting that these patterns must be addressed collectively.
In light of digitisation efforts, NISO flagged cyber threats as an emerging and serious risk to grid stability. Muhammed disclosed that a new cybersecurity framework is being developed to safeguard both operational and commercial layers of the grid, with particular attention to legacy systems vulnerable to external attacks.
Chief Operating Officer at Geregu Power, Abiose Wasiu Olayiwola, stressed the disruptive impact of grid instability on generation plants, pointing to reduced unit availability, higher maintenance needs, and escalating operational costs. He called for empathy from NISO in the treatment of public-sector GENCOs, given their unique limitations and legacy infrastructure.
While welcoming the SCADA rollout, he warned that retrofitting older plants would demand significant investment and time. He also reinforced concerns around cybersecurity, noting that power plants, like banks, are potential targets for increasingly sophisticated digital attacks.
Executive Director of Legal Services at NDPHC, Dr. Steven Andzenge, described the current moment as a turning point for the Nigerian System Operator, commending the professional and credible team now steering its operations. He reiterated the need for fairness and mutual support, assuring NISO of NDPHC’s commitment to deepening collaboration and fulfilling its statutory obligations.
