Tegbe Warns Against Regulatory Actions That Could Disrupt Decentralised Electricity Market
By Sunday Etuka
The Minister of Power, Chief Joseph Tegbe, has urged participants in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) to avoid regulatory actions that could destabilise the nation’s newly decentralised electricity market, warning that institutional rivalry rather than cooperation is the biggest risk to the reform’s success.
Tegbe made the call at a workshop on Legal, Policy and Regulatory Harmonisation between Federal and State Institutions on the Decentralisation of the NESI, which was held recently in Abuja. The workshop was organised by the Federal Ministry of Power, in collaboration with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The Minister laid out how responsibility for Nigeria’s power sector is now shared across multiple institutions: the Federal Government retains an important leadership role; State Governments now have expanded responsibilities; the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) continues to regulate areas within its jurisdiction; and State regulators are emerging to supervise their respective markets.
He further stated that Transmission remains a national asset; Distribution companies continue to serve millions of customers; Generation companies continue to supply energy into the grid; Private investors provide capital; Development partners provide technical support; while Consumers remain at the heart of every decision.
“None of these institutions exists in isolation,” Tegbe said, arguing that collaboration must become the defining principle of the decentralised electricity market, replacing competition between institutions with alignment and mutual respect instead of jurisdictional rivalry.
He stressed that the Electricity Act 2023 did not establish parallel electricity industries but complementary electricity markets operating within a single national framework and that the ultimate goal must be regulatory coherence, so that investors, developers, and consumers are caught between conflicting rules or contradictory approval processes.
