The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the newly formed Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) have united in a strategic partnership to accelerate digital transformation within Nigeria’s energy sector.
By combining NITDA’s technological expertise with NISO’s grid management responsibilities, this collaboration is set to unlock critical benefits for Nigeria’s economy, infrastructure, and tech ecosystem.
The global expansion of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data centres requires massive, uninterrupted power. By aligning tech regulation with grid management, this partnership directly addresses the electricity reliability needed to position Nigeria as a prime destination for international tech investments.
With NISO currently deploying Internet of Things (IoT) enabled meters across the electricity value chain, NITDA’s digital expertise will help optimize this real-time data collection. This means:
- Better visibility across generation, transmission, and distribution interfaces.
- Proactive stabilization of the national grid.
- Seamless data management while the major Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and Energy Management System project is finalized.
By embedding advanced technologies into the power ecosystem, the partnership will foster greater accountability and efficiency across the board. NISO will lean on NITDA’s proven track record of successfully digitizing other major public institutions (such as the NFIU, EFCC, ICPC, and the Nigerian Shippers’ Council) to streamline its own internal operations and service delivery from day one.
Rather than relying on abstract agreements, the two agencies are establishing a joint technical team. This team will instantly identify high-priority projects and deploy a practical framework, ensuring that the benefits of the collaboration are realized quickly and systematically.
Speaking on the partnership, Kashifu Inuwa, Director General of NITDA said: “Technology has become the backbone of modern development. Nigeria stands to benefit significantly from the growing digital economy if it continues to improve electricity reliability while deploying technology to boost transparency, efficiency, and accountability across the power ecosystem.”
Also, Engr. Abdu Bello Mohammed, MD/CEO of NISO: “This engagement is a significant step towards building a technology-enabled electricity management system… Collaboration with NITDA will provide NISO with valuable insights and expertise to support its digitalisation agenda.”
As NISO takes on the critical responsibilities of system operations and power planning following its unbundling from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), this partnership ensures it does not build the future on analog foundations.
Ultimately, the NITDA-NISO alliance creates a powerful win-win: better technology to optimize the power grid, and a more reliable power grid to fuel Nigeria’s booming digital economy.