Minister of Power, Chief Joseph Tegbe, has urged operators in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) to avoid actions capable of destabilising the country’s decentralised electricity market, stressing that collaboration, not competition, must guide institutions operating within the sector.
The minister spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at a workshop on Legal, Policy and Regulatory Harmonisation between Federal and State Institutions on the Decentralisation of NESI.
Tegbe said the Federal Government retains a leadership role in the industry, even as state governments now exercise expanded responsibilities.
He noted that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) continues to regulate areas within its jurisdiction, while state electricity regulators are emerging to oversee their respective markets.
According to him, transmission remains a national asset, distribution companies continue to serve millions of customers, and generation companies continue to supply energy into the grid.
He added that private investors provide capital, development partners offer technical support, while consumers remain central to every decision taken in the sector.
“None of these institutions exists in isolation. Our success is interconnected. This is why collaboration must become the defining principle of our decentralised electricity market,” Tegbe said.
He called for alignment over regulatory conflict and mutual respect over jurisdictional rivalry, noting that the Electricity Act “did not establish parallel electricity industries” but rather “complementary electricity markets operating within one national framework.”
The minister said the sector’s objective must be regulatory coherence, warning that investors should not encounter conflicting rules, nor should developers navigate contradictory approval processes.
“Consumers should not become casualties of institutional uncertainty. Market participants should enjoy clarity, predictability and confidence wherever they choose to invest,” he said.
