Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja
The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has stepped up efforts to improve the stability and reliability of the national grid, with investments in advanced control systems, real-time monitoring technology and new national control centres forming part of its strategy to strengthen system operations.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NISO, Bello Mohammed, disclosed this at a town hall meeting with staff, where he outlined the organisation’s ongoing reforms and priorities for improving grid performance.
Mohammed said NISO had made progress in maintaining the integrity of the grid and enhancing system reliability, while highlighting a recent synchronisation test involving Nigeria and 14 other African countries as a major technical milestone.
He said the successful exercise demonstrated the importance of stronger coordination and technical capacity in managing interconnected electricity systems, particularly as Nigeria seeks to improve the resilience of its own network.
According to him, NISO is also investing in critical infrastructure and technologies designed to give system operators better visibility and control over the grid.
Among the projects, he said, are the construction of ultra-modern National Control Centres in Osogbo, Osun State, and Gwagwalada in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), alongside the deployment of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), Energy Management System (EMS), Automatic Generation Control (AGC), telemetry and Internet of Things-based monitoring systems. Mohammed explained that the technologies would enhance real-time visibility of grid conditions, improve operational efficiency and enable NISO to detect emerging problems earlier.
He cited the detection of anomalies along the Shagamu-Ikorodu transmission corridor through IoT-based monitoring as an example of how improved visibility could support grid management. He said investigations into the anomalies were still ongoing.