The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has called for stronger coordination among stakeholders in the electricity sector to improve hydropower generation, enhance grid stability and increase electricity supply across the country.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of NISO, Engr. Abdu Bello Mohammed, made the call at the opening of the 2026 Hydro Generation Planning Meeting held at the Jebba Hydro Power Station in Niger State.
Mohammed said hydropower occupies a strategic position in Nigeria’s electricity supply industry, not only because of the energy it contributes to the national grid but also because of its ability to provide operational flexibility, frequency regulation, reserve provision, voltage support and system restoration.
He stressed that hydro generation planning should go beyond determining the amount of electricity that could be generated, noting that it must take into account reservoir levels, water inflows and releases, seasonal hydrological conditions, generating-unit availability, maintenance schedules, transmission capacity and system demand.
According to him, effective hydro generation planning requires accurate and timely information from generating companies, water-resource authorities, the Transmission Company of Nigeria, distribution companies and other industry stakeholders.
The NISO chief executive said the system operator had intensified compliance enforcement on Free Governor Control across the generation fleet, stressing that governor response was critical to maintaining grid frequency and system stability.
He explained that NISO’s monitoring and enforcement measures included field inspections, conditional derogations with fixed expiry dates and a penalty framework tied to Monthly Penalizable Capacity in line with regulatory directives.
Mohammed urged generating companies to ensure that the flexibility of their hydro units was not merely stated on paper but demonstrated through reliable and compliant operational performance.
He also called for improved coordination of maintenance and outage schedules to reduce forced outages and increase the availability of hydroelectric generating units.
The NISO boss said the evolving energy mix, including increasing renewable and distributed generation, would require greater flexibility from the national grid, making hydropower even more important because of its ability to respond rapidly to changes in generation and demand.
He therefore advocated the preservation, rehabilitation, modernisation and optimisation of existing hydropower assets, alongside the development of viable new hydro resources.
On digitalisation, Mohammed said NISO’s ongoing modern control centre and operational intelligence systems programme would enhance operational visibility and strengthen the use of Energy Management Systems, SCADA, IoT, state estimation and contingency analysis across the electricity fleet.
He said the objective was to move from generation planning based predominantly on historical patterns to predictive, scenario-based and risk-informed planning.
The NISO chief executive further urged participants at the five-day meeting to critically examine historical performance, identify the constraints limiting hydro generation and agree on measurable actions with clearly assigned responsibilities and timelines.
He said the outcomes of the meeting would include a projected hydro generation profile, water-resource availability assessment, maintenance and outage schedules, generating-unit availability, reserve requirements, transmission constraints and strategies for improving hydro reliability.
Mohammed said the success of the meeting would ultimately be measured not by the quality of presentations delivered but by the decisions taken and their impact on generation availability, grid security and electricity supply to Nigerians.
He assured stakeholders that NISO remained committed to working collaboratively with all relevant institutions to ensure that Nigeria’s hydropower resources were effectively integrated into the national generation mix and optimally utilised for economic development.
The 2026 Hydro Generation Planning Meeting is expected to provide a platform for hydropower generating companies, regulators, transmission and distribution operators, water-resource authorities and other stakeholders to coordinate generation plans for the planning period.
