The Nigerian Independent System Operator (Niso), in partnership with the West African Power Pool (Wapp) Information and Coordination Centre, has successfully synchronised Nigeria’s national electricity grid with the broader West African power network marking a major milestone in regional energy integration.
This was disclosed by Niso in a press release earlier this week on its verified X handle.
The long-awaited test, conducted between 5:04am and 9:04am on Saturday, 8 November 2025, linked Nigeria, the Niger Republic, and parts of Benin and Togo to the rest of the West African grid.
It represents the first successful attempt at establishing a unified power system operating at a single frequency across 15 Ecowas member states.
The development follows earlier news reports by The Guardian Nigeria in which Niso reaffirmed its commitment to digitising the national grid and preparing for regional synchronisation under the Ecowas framework.
That earlier effort laid the groundwork for the successful test conducted in November 2025, highlighting Nigeria’s long-term strategy to modernise grid operations and strengthen cross-border power integration.
A joint statement issued by Niso’s chairman, Adesegun Akin-Olugbade, and Managing Director, Abdu Bello Mohammed, described the achievement as a “historic leap” toward the creation of a stable, reliable, and interconnected electricity market in the sub-region.
Efforts to achieve grid synchronisation have spanned nearly two decades, with the first test in 2007 lasting only seven minutes before being aborted due to instability and poor coordination.
The 2025 milestone was enabled by improved real-time communication between control centres, stricter frequency control, harmonised operational standards, and advanced system monitoring technology jointly implemented by Niso and the Wapp coordination centre.
The synchronisation connects Area 1 comprising Nigeria, Niger, and parts of Benin and Togo with Areas 2 and 3, which include the remaining West African countries.
In June, the government said 2,000MW was added to Nigeria’s electricity supply within just two years, bringing the country’s available power supply from 4,000MW to 6,000MW.
Yet this is not sufficient to meet demand, estimated somewhere around 32,000MW.
Nigeria’s national grid supplies just 20% of the country’s total electricity demand, leaving an estimated 150 million Nigerians with no access or unreliable access to electricity, according to energy think tank RMI.
This integration strengthens Nigeria’s position as a pivotal player in the region’s electricity ecosystem, paving the way for cross-border power trading, foreign exchange earnings, and better utilisation of the country’s stranded generation capacity.
According to recent industry data, Nigerian power-generating companies lost an estimated ₦2.31tn over the past 12 years due to unutilised electricity caused by grid limitations and operational inefficiencies.
The unified network is expected to reduce such losses by expanding export opportunities and stabilising the domestic grid.
For Nigeria, the successful test reinforces its leadership in regional energy cooperation and opens access to multilateral donor funding for key transmission projects.
Initiatives such as the North Core Transmission Project in Birnin Kebbi and the Ajegunle 330kV Substation in Lagos are expected to benefit from renewed investor confidence and enhanced technical collaboration under the West African Electricity Market framework.
The integration also enhances system resilience by allowing participating countries to exchange power during shortfalls or emergencies, thereby improving reliability for millions of consumers across the sub-region.
Niso said the synchronisation “demonstrates Nigeria’s technical capacity to manage complex grid operations in line with international standards” and underscores the country’s central role in driving regional economic growth through power-sector cooperation.
With the successful grid link, West Africa moves closer to its goal of creating a single, competitive electricity market capable of delivering sustainable energy to more than 400 million people across 14 Ecowas member states.
Earlier this year, Nigeria inaugurated its first-ever interconnected mini-grid system, linking renewable energy sources like solar and battery storage with its fragile national grid.