By: Channels

A Historic Milestone for Regional Power Integration

The Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO) has announced a successful test to synchronize the West African power grid. Conducted on November 8, 2025, the four-hour test marks a major breakthrough in establishing a unified regional grid operating at a single frequency, a goal that has long eluded the region.

Learning from Past Attempts

This achievement follows a failed attempt in 2007, which lasted only seven minutes. The recent success is attributed to renewed collaboration between NISO and the West African Power Pool Coordination Centre (WAPP-CC), leveraging improved system monitoring, tighter frequency control, and harmonized operational standards.

Unifying the Regional Grid

The test successfully interconnected Area 1—comprising Nigeria, Niger, and parts of Benin and Togo—with Areas 2 and 3, which include the rest of West Africa. This integration creates a single operational grid designed to boost reliability, enhance stability, and facilitate cross-border electricity trade across the ECOWAS subregion.

Strategic Objectives of the Initiative

The synchronization initiative aims to unify the regional grid operationally, improve reliability through shared reserves, and enable cost-effective power generation and trading under the West African Electricity Market (WAEM). It is also designed to foster deeper institutional cooperation among member states.

Specific Benefits for Nigeria

For Nigeria, this achievement is expected to unlock stranded generation capacity, support energy exports to earn foreign exchange, and improve national grid resilience. It also reinforces the country's leadership in regional energy integration and enhances access to international donor funding for key domestic transmission projects.

A Foundation for Future Growth

The successful synchronization lays a foundational framework for a more robust and interconnected West African power system. By creating a single electricity market, the project promises to drive economic growth, improve energy security, and attract further investment in the region's critical energy infrastructure.