Ministers, regulators, and other stakeholders in the power sector will meet in Lagos to discuss solutions to Nigeria’s power challenges.

Smart-grid solutions provider, NOJA Power Australia, will on Tuesday, January 27, host a high-level executive dialogue aimed at strengthening collaboration among states, regulators, distribution companies, and financiers in Nigeria’s electricity sector, as the industry adjusts to the Electricity Act 2023.

According to a statement, the organisers said the event, themed ‘Effective Collaboration Between States, Regulators, and Distribution Companies: A Synergy for Sub-National Energy Security’, will be held in Lagos under the Akinwunmi & Busari LP ‘Let There Be Light’ Series.

About 60 key decision-makers are expected at the closed-door session, including the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu; the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun; and the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Mrs Olu Verheijen.

Participants will also be drawn from state energy commissions, electricity regulators, distribution companies, development agencies, and the investment community.

The organisers described the dialogue as a strategic networking and policy engagement forum rather than a conventional conference, designed to promote frank, solution-driven discussions on the evolving structure of Nigeria’s decentralised power market.

With the Electricity Act 2023 empowering states to play a more active role in electricity generation, transmission, and distribution, stakeholders are expected to interrogate emerging challenges such as regulatory overlap, jurisdictional uncertainty, coordination between state institutions and distribution companies, as well as growing concerns among investors around risk and bankability, the statement noted.

The programme will feature opening remarks by senior government officials, followed by a keynote address from NOJA Power, which will share global perspectives on electricity distribution reform, drawing lessons from international markets where decentralisation and grid automation have improved reliability and efficiency.

It was stated that the dialogue will be organised into two executive sessions. The first session, titled ‘Resolving Regulatory Overlap in Nigeria’s Post-Electricity Act 2023 Power Market’, will examine practical frameworks for state–distribution company coexistence.

Panellists include the Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Biodun Ogunleye; the Ondo State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Johnson Alabi; the Managing Director of the Nigerian Independent System Operator, Abdu Bello Mohammed; the Managing Director of Kano Electricity Distribution Plc, Dr Abubakar Jimeta; and the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Musiliu Oseni.

The session will be moderated by Mr Chukwubuike Nnaeto. The second session will focus on financing power sector reforms, with the theme ‘De-risking Power Infrastructure Investments Under the Electricity Act: The Lender’s Perspective’.

It will bring together representatives of major institutional investors and public finance bodies, including the Head of Investment at the National Pension Commission, Mr Abdulqadir Dahiru; the Executive Director, Investment, Ministry of Finance, Mr Olufemi Ogunseinde; the Executive Director, Corporate Finance, Bank of Industry, Mr Rotimi Akinde; the Chairman of Stanbic IBTC Pension Managers and Stanbic Pensions, Dr Demola Shogunle; and the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Rural Electrification Agency, Dr Abba Aliyu.

The organisers noted that the closed-door nature of the forum was deliberate, to encourage open engagement and shared accountability among policymakers, regulators, operators, and financiers.

“Successful electricity reform requires a unified approach where regulation, investment, and operations work in concert. This dialogue is a vital step towards aligning policy intentions, regulatory practices, and investment realities so that reforms translate into tangible improvements for businesses and communities,” the statement added.