Decentralization of Electricity Market: Power Minister Constitutes Inter-Agency Committee To Tackle Recurring Issues

*Power Minister, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe while speaking at the event 

…Vows to make NESI succeed

By Clement Nwoji

Given reccuring challenges in effective implementation of the decentralized electricity market, the Power Minister, Joseph Olasunkanmi Tegbe, has constituted a 9-Member Inter-Agency Committee reposed with driving sustained engagement, resolving emerging implementation issues, and supporting the seamless operationalization of the Electricity Act, 2023.

This is to ensure that agencies and stakeholders within the Nigeria Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) curb working at cross purposes.

Power sector stakeholders meeting

This forms the high point of the stakeholders workshop during which, the Minister who served as the Chairman of the Committee enjoined all the industry agencies and stakeholders to work collaboratively instead of being rivalries or competitors.

Giving the committee a time frame of four weeks to review issues raised at the meeting, the Minister said members would work with other stakeholders and share a resolution within the time frame.

Tegbe applauded the power sector decentralization, saying that Nigeria’s transition to a decentralized electricity market is one of the most significant reforms in the power sector in decades.

“Its success will depend not on institutional competition, but on collaboration, regulatory certainty, and our shared commitment to delivering better outcomes for Nigerians.

“We must make the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry succeed” he charged.

According to him, ” Electricity remains the single most important enabler of economic growth, industrialisation, job creation, digital transformation and improved quality of life.

“Every sector of our economy depends upon it – Manufacturing, Agriculture, Mining, Financial Services, Telecommunications and Information Technology, to mention but a few.

“Indeed, every national aspiration under the Renewed Hope Agenda rests upon the availability of reliable electricity. The responsibility before us, therefore, extends beyond institutional mandates.

“It is a national obligation. The decentralisation of the electricity market should not be viewed as fragmentation. It should rather be understood as the intelligent distribution of responsibilities within one integrated national electricity ecosystem.

“I am encouraged by the constructive engagement of all stakeholders, including the decision to deepen consultations as we continue to strengthen the implementation framework.

“Together, we are laying the foundation for a modern, reliable, and investor-friendly electricity market that delivers improved service, attracts investment, and powers Nigeria’s economic growth.”