The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission has endorsed a call by Minister of Power Joseph Tegbe for greater collaboration among operators in the electricity industry, saying Nigerians care more about reliable power than which institution holds regulatory authority.

The commission’s statement followed a workshop convened by the minister in Abuja to address legal, policy and regulatory coordination between federal and state institutions following the decentralization of the electricity market under the Electricity Act of 2023, which allows states to establish and regulate their own markets.

In a statement, NERC said the workshop gave stakeholders a chance to examine challenges emerging from the shift to a multi tier electricity market and to identify ways to work together more effectively. Commission Chairman Musiliu Oseni said the priority for all stakeholders should be improving electricity supply rather than competing over regulatory turf, noting that consumers are far more concerned with whether they have reliable power than with which government tier is responsible for delivering it.

He urged regulators and policymakers to set aside institutional interests in favor of dialogue and proposed a more structured platform for regular engagement between federal and state authorities, suggesting the existing National Council on Power be reformed to allow more frequent policy discussions between the minister and state commissioners.

Tegbe had earlier warned stakeholders against actions that could undermine the decentralized market, stressing that the reforms are meant to create complementary markets within a single national framework rather than competing systems. He announced a nine member interagency committee, which he will chair, tasked with engaging stakeholders over the next four weeks and recommending measures to strengthen implementation of the Electricity Act.