By Chidi Ugwu
The Presidency on Wednesday formally inaugurated the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) which was created by the Electricity Act 2003, as amended, to among other things, enhance availability, reliability, as well as the quality of electricity supply to Nigerians.
Vice President, Kassim Shettima performed the inauguration at the Presidential Villa, in the presence of the Chairman of the National Council on Privatization and other prominent players in the nation’s power sector.
Speaking shortly the inauguration, Engineer Abdullah Mohamed, the newly inaugurated Managing Director of NISO, said the kick off of the organisation marks a significant step in Nigeria’s power sector reform.
Engr. Mohamed, emphasized the organization’s role in enhancing electricity availability, reliability, and quality.
According to him, NISO aims to create a transparent and disciplined environment for power industry participants, aligning with the Electricity Act of 2023, stressing that the new entity will work closely with generation companies, transmission service providers, and distribution companies to ensure efficient electricity supply across Nigeria.
Mohamed expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the trust placed in NISO and acknowledged the challenges ahead, promising a pragmatic and systematic approach to address them, declaring that the inauguration marks the beginning of a journey towards a more reliable electricity supply for Nigerians.
“Our major role in the power industry is to bring the needed changes in the system that will enhance availability, reliability, and quality of supply of electricity to Nigerians.
“In addition to that, we’re supposed to create an atmosphere, an environment of transparency, discipline, and orderliness in electricity business in Nigeria, meaning that participants in generation, transmission, distribution, and eligible customers behave in a passionate manner in line with the provisions of the market rules and the grid code.
“The coming on board of the NISO Board of Management will usher these qualities that are required to make the power sector thick, just like other power sectors in bigger jurisdictions.
“Now it’s a journey. It’s not a one-off business.
“The beginning of the journey starts today. We begin today, and we’re going to set the ground running. We hit the ground running. Tomorrow, we’re going to Oshogbo, the National Control Center, to make sure that our operators are aligned to our vision, mission, objectives, and goals as enshrined in the Electricity Act 2023” he said.
