The Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA) and the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) have reaffirmed commitments to strengthen institutional collaboration to enhance safety oversight, regulatory compliance, and technical standardisation across the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).
The Head, Public Affairs Unit of NEMSA, Ama Umoren, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
Mrs Umoren said the resolution was reached during a strategic courtesy visit by NEMSA’s Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer and Chief Electrical Inspector of the Federation, Olusegun Adesayo to the leadership of NERC in Abuja
She said the high-level engagement centred on deepening cooperation in critical areas.
These she said include electrical safety enforcement, technical inspection, certification of installations, metering compliance, infrastructure monitoring, and coordinated regulatory oversight across the generation, transmission, distribution, and end-user segments of the power value chain.
Speaking during the visit, the MD/CEO of NEMSA, Adesayo, emphasised that stronger synergy between both institutions is essential to addressing persistent safety challenges within the sector, including electrical accidents, substandard installations, equipment failures, and non-compliance with approved technical regulations.
According to him, NEMSA’s statutory mandate in the inspection, testing, and certification of electrical installations, electricity meters, instruments, and equipment directly complements NERC’s regulatory responsibilities in ensuring a safe, reliable, and sustainable electricity supply nationwide.
“Closer institutional collaboration between NEMSA and NERC is critical to strengthening safety compliance, improving operational efficiency, and ensuring that the Nigerian power sector continues to operate in accordance with established technical standards and global best practices,” he stated.
Mr Adesayo further stressed the need for harmonised data management, coordinated incident investigations, joint compliance monitoring, and structured information-sharing mechanisms that will support evidence-based regulatory actions and proactive enforcement.
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The Chairman of NERC, Musiliu Oseni, welcomed the initiative and reaffirmed the commission’s readiness to work closely with NEMSA in advancing sector reforms, strengthening safety enforcement, and improving overall sector performance.
He noted that the ongoing reforms in Nigeria’s electricity supply industry, particularly the decentralisation of regulatory responsibilities to sub-national entities under the Electricity Act, make inter-agency coordination even more imperative to maintaining uniform technical standards across the country.
The commission also highlighted the urgent need for stronger enforcement against the proliferation of substandard electrical materials and unsafe installations.
He noted that effective standardisation remains fundamental to safeguarding lives, protecting infrastructure, and sustaining investor confidence in the power sector.
Both agencies, according to the statement, agreed to institutionalise stronger operational collaboration through technical working groups, joint inspection frameworks, regular strategic engagements, and coordinated compliance enforcement mechanisms.
