The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB) has officially kicked-off Capacity-Building Technical Workshop for the Nigeria Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) Project, marking a major milestone in the country’s modern energy transition.
In his speech, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of TCN, Engr. (Dr.) Sule Ahmed Abdulaziz, emphasized that the workshop comes at a pivotal moment for Nigeria's power sector. As the nation moves toward clean and reliable energy, making building localized technical expertise an urgent priority.
The MD/CEO highlighted that BESS technology is no longer a futuristic concept but an immediate, practical solution to three of the nation’s critical power challenges including “grid instability, integration of renewable energy, and the need for faster response to demand fluctuations. From stabilizing frequency to providing backup during outages, BESS will be central to making our grid smarter and more resilient,” he stated.
While acknowledging the advanced nature of BESS technology, the MD/CEO stressed that technology alone cannot deliver results without skilled personnel. The capacity-building workshop was specifically structured to equip participants with global best practices, hands-on technical modules, strict safety protocols, and tailored project management approaches for the Nigerian context. The skills acquired during the training are expected to directly influence how Nigeria designs, procures, operates, and maintains utility-scale battery storage systems moving forward.
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Further buttressing the relevance of the BESS project, the Executive Director, Transmission Service Provider, Engr. Olugbenga E. A. Ajiboye, in his keynote address noted that “For decades, our grid has operated as if the only path to stability was to balance generation with demand in real time, a challenge that becomes exponentially harder as you add variable renewable energy sources whose output depends on whether the sun is shining or the wind is blowing. BESS breaks that constraint. It stores energy when it is abundant and releases it when it is needed. It responds to frequency deviations in milliseconds - faster than any conventional generator can. It provides voltage support, spinning reserve, and black start capability. It is, in the most literal technical sense, a stabiliser of systems under stress.”
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Emphasizing the global relevance to the initiative, the Executive Director cited other emerging economies like South Africa who have already deployed grid-scale BESS, while Kenya, Morocco, Ghana, and India are rapidly establishing frameworks for storage integration. He noted that these nations are not making luxury investments, but are practically solving the exact grid challenges Nigeria faces.
Engr. Ajiboye also disclosed that the Nigeria BESS Project has moved past the theoretical stage. A Feasibility Study supported by the African Development Bank (AfDB) has already used historical voltage and frequency collapse data from the national grid to identify four strategic pilot deployment locations. While the legal framework is already secured under the Electricity Act 2023, the AfDB has confirmed its readiness to support a $5 billion deployment once local capacity is established.
The 80 selected participants at the workshop were organized into three thematic tracks viz Grid Operations and Market Integration, Inspection, Safety and Environmental Compliance, as well as Regulation and Policy Coordination, which reflect the core pillars on which a functioning BESS ecosystem must be established.
This Workshop will be followed by a Technical Validation Workshop-a rigorous expert peer review of the full feasibility study findings in June, and subsequently the Official Ground Launch of the Nigeria BESS Project where the validated study and its investment framework will be presented publicly to government officials, development partners, private sector stakeholders, and the Nigerian people.
The workshop which held Monday, May 18 2026 in Abuja, brought together key stakeholders, including distinguished representatives from the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Power, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA), National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA), as well as technical experts and participants from the transmission and distribution sectors.