Nigeria: Power Minister Forms 9-Member Inter-Agency Committee on Electricity Market Reforms

Nigeria’s Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, has inaugurated a nine-member inter-agency committee to address implementation issues arising from the decentralisation of the country’s electricity market under the Electricity Act, 2023.

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission said the committee, chaired by Tegbe, has been given four weeks to review issues raised during a workshop on legal, policy and regulatory harmonisation between federal and state institutions held in Abuja on July 14.

The committee is expected to drive sustained engagement among stakeholders, resolve emerging implementation challenges and support the seamless operationalisation of the Electricity Act, which provides the legal framework for decentralising the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

Speaking at the workshop, Tegbe described the transition to a decentralised electricity market as one of the most significant reforms in Nigeria’s power sector in decades.

“The success of this reform will depend not on institutional competition, but on collaboration, regulatory certainty and our shared commitment to delivering better outcomes for Nigerians,” he said.

Tegbe said electricity remains critical to Nigeria’s economic growth, industrialisation, job creation, digital transformation and improved quality of life, noting that key sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, agriculture, mining, financial services, telecommunications and information technology, depend on reliable electricity.

He said the reform should not be viewed as a fragmentation of the power sector but as a redistribution of responsibilities within an integrated national electricity system.

Tegbe added that continued consultations between federal and state institutions would help strengthen the implementation framework and support the development of a modern, reliable and investor-friendly electricity market capable of attracting investment and improving electricity supply.

The Electricity Act, 2023, allows Nigeria’s 36 states to establish and regulate their own electricity markets, ending the federal government’s long-standing monopoly over electricity generation, transmission and distribution in areas covered by state legislation.