Nigerian power system operates under difficult conditions, says NISO MD

The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has admitted that the Nigerian power system is operating under difficult conditions.

Speaking at the workshop on strengthening grid stability in Niger State, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD/CEO) of NISO Engineer Abdu Bello Mohammed said that some of the conditions include generation and transmission constraints, changing demand patterns, frequency excursions, voltage-security challenges, and the growing need to co-ordinate a more diverse portfolio of energy resources.

According to him, maintaining stability under the circumstances requires continuous vigilance and a holistic approach that combines operational excellence with long-term strategic planning, adding that frequency excursions, for example, can result from a variety of interrelated factors, including sudden generation or load losses, forecasting and scheduling inaccuracies, fault-induced disturbances, inadequate system inertia and the response characteristics of generating units during system events.

Addressing these challenges, he stated, requires more than technical interventions alone.

“It demands accurate and timely operational information, adequate frequency and voltage control resources, effective reserve management, strict compliance with the grid code, operational discipline, and, above all, seamless coordination among stakeholders. Equally important is the need to ensure that operational decisions today are supported by robust planning for the future.

“As Nigeria pursues the development of new generation projects, transmission infrastructure and other greenfield investments across the power sector, system planning becomes increasingly critical to the long-term stability and reliability of grid operations. The successful integration of these projects will require careful assessment of transmission adequacy, system strength, operational flexibility, reserve requirements, reliability criteria and future demand growth,” he said.

Mohammed, however, maintained that a resilient and stable grid of the future will depend not only on how effectively the system is operated, but also on how deliberately the system plans and develops the network to accommodate emerging resources and evolving system requirements.