By Helen Okechukwu, JKNewsMedia Reporter
CONSTRUCTION HAS begun on a new ultra-modern National Control Centre (NCC) for the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) in Osogbo, Osun State, as the Federal Government moves to strengthen the management and stability of Nigeria’s electricity grid.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the ceremony was performed by Vice President Kashim Shettima, GCON, with the support of the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe.
Representing the Vice President at the event, the Senior Special Assistant, Legal, Office of the Vice President, said reliable electricity remains central to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
He described electricity as the foundation of an economy that works, enabling manufacturers to plan production, small businesses to operate with confidence and hospitals and schools to function, while creating jobs and wider economic opportunities.
The National Control Centre (NCC), he said, plays a critical role in protecting the reliability of the electricity system, adding that Nigeria could not operate a modern, interconnected grid with outdated tools.
Giving an overview of the project, Tegbe said the new facility would give NISO greater visibility of activities across the national grid and enable faster responses to emerging challenges.
Once commissioned, the centre will feature integrated SCADA, large-format displays and analytics to help operators identify developing faults, plan preventive maintenance and make better use of available generation and transmission capacity.
The facility is also expected to improve responses to system disturbances, support the integration of renewable energy and strengthen Nigeria’s coordination within the West African Power Pool. It will also be backed by stronger physical and cyber security.
Tegbe said consumers and businesses should benefit from fewer avoidable outages and a more dependable electricity supply. He, however, noted that achieving this would also require adequate gas feedstock, properly maintained transmission equipment and distribution networks capable of delivering electricity to end users.
He said the control centre would strengthen the coordination required to turn investments in generation, transmission and distribution into usable electricity.
NISO Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Abdu Bello Mohammed, said the facility would improve the organisation’s visibility of the national grid, sharpen coordination and support faster and better-informed responses to system disturbances.
He said upgraded telemetry, SCADA and automatic metering would provide better data for decision-making and contribute to more reliable electricity supply and improved market settlement.
Mohammed added that the centre would equip NISO to meet the technical demands of the West African power system, while stressing the importance of developing skilled operators capable of running the facility to international standards.
“Technology does not operate the grid, people do,” he said.
JKNewsMedia.com also reports that meanwhile, Tegbe held a strategic closed-door meeting with the leadership of selected electricity distribution companies over the FG’s proposed Energy Zones, designed to deliver stable 24-hour electricity to homes, businesses and industries in the country’s highest-demand areas.
The proposed zones cover the Lagos axis, Abuja-Kaduna-Kano and Enugu-Port Harcourt.
Tegbe said the challenges facing the electricity sector extend beyond generation and transmission to the amount of power taken up and delivered at the distribution end.
He said the Energy Zones are intended to close that gap, unlock commercial and industrial demand and strengthen DisCo revenue and collections.
The minister also reaffirmed the FG’s commitment to building infrastructure in high-demand areas so that electricity supply can keep pace with estimated demand in the growing economy.
He said the engagement reinforces the minister’s commitment, made upon assuming office, to pursue a disciplined and sequenced approach to the sector’s challenges, and it as well, advances President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which places reliable energy at the centre of economic growth, industrialisation and job creation.
According to a press statement, both ceremonies were respectively attended by the Board and Management of NISO, members of the National Assembly Committees on Power (NACP), leaders of various Distribution Companies, representatives of the Osun State Government, industry stakeholders and community leaders; leadership of Abuja Electric Distribution Company (AEDC), Ikeja Electric (IKJEC), Eko Power (EP), Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company (IEDC) and Sahara Energy Group (SEG), among others.
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