Politically speaking, the power sector in Nigeria is still performing below par in its core mandate of service delivery to Nigerians as the citizens are daily grappling with erratic power supply. The Electricity Sector Reform Act, 2005 was meant to inject efficiency into the sector and led to the unbundling of generation and distribution arms of the electricity value chain into several private entities with the transmission arm kept intact and wholly owned by the Federal government.

It should be noted that the transmission arm of the triad value chain is made up of Independent System Operator (ISO) and the Transmission Service Provider (TSP) and in a latest move to further deepen reforms in the sector, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, hinted while speaking at the Federal Ministry of Power Ministerial Retreat held in Abuja on Tuesday 12/12/2023 that “To align with the Electricity Act 2023 and the industry’s demands, it’s time to restructure the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) into two entities: the Independent System Operator (ISO) and the Transmission Service Provider (TSP)”.

He further said that this restructuring must synchronise with the evolving landscape of state electricity markets, addressing calls for the decentralization of the national grid into regional grids interconnected by a new higher voltage national or super-grid.

In pursuing the unbundling of TCN, the Minister disclosed that there will be comparisons made with China’s centralized model and the US’s diverse access models like rural cooperatives and state-based utilities with regulatory oversight and that attention will be paid to “how to handle subsidies, and aligning the Rural Electrification Agency’s role with emerging State markets after stakeholder scrutiny for effective resolution”.

While applauding the Minister for identifying the need to reposition the power sector for better performance, he should tread with caution as there will emerge characters and elements who are not sincere but are only after what they will benefit from the exercise. It is usual to expect that when an Elephant is to be butchered, there will be different shapes and sizes of knives. At least, he has the experience of history to tap and learn from.

As promised by the Minister, he should listen to and carry every stakeholder along in this arduous assignment, particularly the key industry players, union representatives, genuine investors, and other technical partners because the peculiarity of the transmission network that crisscrosses the length and breadth of the country has to be given due consideration.