The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) and the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) have agreed to strengthen collaboration aimed at improving electricity market operations in Nigeria, and fostering a more efficient, transparent and investor-friendly electricity market.
This commitment was reinforced on Tuesday, by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NISO, Engr. Abdu Bello Mohammed, and the Managing Director of NBET, Dr. Akinola Odeyemi, in Abuja.
Engr. Mohammed, according to a statement made available by NISO, said that both agencies have intertwined responsibility to make the electricity market efficient and attractive to investors.
He said that the overall objective of the two agencies is to ensure stable and reliable power supply to Nigerians; therefore, NISO was open to collaborating with NBET and other stakeholders to holistically address the challenges of liquidity in the sector.
According to him, “I welcome you to NISO’s office and congratulate you on your appointment. Our organization and NBET share a lot in common; while we manage the service aspect of the electricity market, you manage the energy. Historically, NISO and NBET have always worked in synergy, so what we need now is to improve that under the new leadership.”
Mohammed added that, “The goal of establishing these agencies is to ensure Nigerians enjoy stable power supply. We must therefore work together to achieve it. The Honourable Minister is someone with great vision and an open mind. We owe him and indeed Nigerians the obligation to unite under his leadership to share ideas and address the challenges in the sector.”
While maintaining that NBET is a prime agency that’s well positioned to have an inseparable responsibility with NISO, he assured that, “we will work together to ensure that the common goals the Electricity Act 2023 reforms hope to achieve under this administration are achieved.”
On his part, the MD of NBET, Dr. Akinola Odeyemi, in his remarks, commended NISO for what it is doing to stabilize and improve the electricity market, noting that his organization would continue to work hand-in-hand to ensure that the gains recorded so far are not only sustained but improved upon.
He averred that, “Upon my appointment, I thought it wise to visit and familiarize myself with sister agencies to see areas where we can work more closely together to achieve our overall mandates. Particularly, we are here to discuss further collaboration on market settlement, revenue alliance, coordination, and the overall strategies to improve the electricity market.”
Odeyemi assured that under his leadership, NBET will continue to maintain a robust relationship with NISO and other agencies in the sector to ensure the electricity market continues to grow and attract investment that will ultimately translate into improved electricity supply in the country.
