The Federal Government has begun construction of a new ultra-modern National Control Centre for the Nigerian Independent System Operator, NISO, in Osogbo, Osun State, on September 30, 2026, replacing a 64-year-old facility that officials say is no longer adequate for managing Nigeria’s interconnected electricity grid.

Vice President Kashim Shettima, represented by the Senior Special Assistant, Legal, in the Office of the Vice President, performed the groundbreaking ceremony with the support of the Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe.

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The project is designed to give NISO stronger visibility over the national grid while improving the speed and quality of responses to faults and other system disturbances.

Speaking at the ceremony, Shettima said reliable electricity remained central to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, describing power as an essential foundation for economic activity.

He said dependable electricity would enable manufacturers to plan production, support small businesses and help hospitals and schools operate more effectively while creating wider opportunities for employment.

The Vice President said the National Control Centre plays a crucial role in protecting grid reliability, adding that Nigeria could not operate a modern interconnected electricity system with outdated infrastructure.

Tegbe said the new control centre would provide NISO with advanced tools to monitor developments across the national grid and respond more effectively to emerging problems.

The facility is expected to incorporate integrated Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, SCADA, systems, large-format displays and analytical tools.

According to the minister, those technologies will help operators identify developing faults, plan preventive maintenance and optimise available generation and transmission capacity.

The centre is also expected to strengthen the country’s response to grid disturbances, support the integration of renewable energy and improve Nigeria’s coordination within the West African Power Pool.

Tegbe said the project would also feature stronger physical and cyber-security measures, reflecting the growing importance of protecting critical electricity infrastructure.

For electricity consumers and businesses, the expected benefit is improved coordination that could help reduce avoidable outages and support more dependable power supply.

The minister, however, noted that a modern control centre alone could not resolve every challenge in Nigeria’s electricity sector.

He said reliable supply would also depend on adequate gas feedstock, properly maintained transmission infrastructure and distribution networks capable of delivering available electricity to end users.

NISO Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Abdu Bello Mohammed, said the facility would improve the organisation’s visibility of the national grid and enable faster, better-informed responses to system disturbances.

Mohammed said upgraded telemetry, SCADA and automatic metering would provide better data for operational decisions while also improving market settlement.

He added that the facility would strengthen NISO’s ability to meet the technical requirements of the West African power system.

Mohammed also stressed the importance of human expertise alongside technology.

“Technology does not operate the grid, people do,” he said, noting that NISO was developing skilled operators capable of running the facility to international standards.

The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by NISO’s board and management, members of the National Assembly Committees on Power, representatives of electricity distribution companies, officials of the Osun State Government, industry stakeholders and community leaders.

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The project represents a significant infrastructure upgrade for Nigeria’s electricity system, with its eventual impact expected to depend on how effectively the new technology is integrated with generation, transmission and distribution assets across the country.