System Operator Joins West Africa Power Pool Amid Nigeria’s Grid Disturbances

The  Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has been integrated into the West Africa Power Pool (WAPP), a pivotal step toward regional power stability, even as the national grid faced repeated collapses in early 2026.

NISO said on Wednesday it was formally admitted into the West WAPP, marking a significant milestone in Nigeria’s electricity sector reform and regional power integration efforts.

Recall that the national grid collapsed for the second time on January 26, following an initial failure on January 23, leaving millions in darkness across major cities.

NISO attributed the first incident to the simultaneous tripping of multiple 330kV transmission lines and the disconnection of generating units, while the latest stemmed from a voltage disturbance at the Gombe Transmission Substation that spread rapidly.

These events, the third in less than a month, including the December 2025 outage, highlight persistent issues such as ageing infrastructure and low generation capacity.

NISO, in a statement, said the admission took place on 24 January, at the 20th session of the WAPP general assembly in Lomé, Togo, which convened electricity sector leaders, system operators and policymakers from across West Africa.

“The decision to admit NISO reflects recognition of its mandate as Nigeria’s independent system and market operator, responsible for ensuring reliability, transparency and efficiency in the operation of the national electricity grid and electricity market,” the statement said.

In November last year, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said Nigeria had successfully conducted a grid synchronisation test connecting the national electricity grid with the interconnected WAPP system.

Adelabu, at the time, said this exercise represents the first time in history that Nigeria has operated in a unified, stable, and fully harmonised configuration with the rest of the sub-region.

The minister said the synchronisation would enable the country to optimise generation costs, deepen industrialisation, strengthen regulatory oversight, and expand its leadership in the energy landscape of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Synchronisation is the process of matching the frequency, phase and voltage of a generator or other source to an electrical grid to transfer electricity.

As a WAPP member, NISO said it will contribute to regional grid coordination, information sharing, system planning and the development of a competitive regional electricity market.

“The admission advances WAPP’s objective of integrating national power systems across the ECOWAS sub-region and strengthens Nigeria’s role in promoting grid stability, cross-border electricity trade and sustainable energy development in West Africa,” it added.

NISO said its participation was led by its management team under the leadership of its Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Abdu Bello Mohammed, who was present for the inauguration and formal admission proceedings.

The NISO admission comes amidst Nigeria’s grid instability.

On Tuesday, Nigerians were thrown into darkness due to ‘system collapse’, marking the second time in less than five days that the country’s national grid collapsed.

NISO is responsible for managing electricity system operations, including load allocation from generation companies to distribution companies and eligible customers.