NERC pushes for emergency cyber response team to shield Nigeria’s power grid

By Onu Okorie

Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is pushing for the establishment of a power sector-wide emergency cyber response mechanism as the increasing deployment of digital technologies exposes the country’s electricity infrastructure to new security vulnerabilities.
The proposal signals a shift in the regulator’s attention from conventional challenges of generation, transmission, distribution and market liquidity to the protection of the digital systems increasingly underpinning electricity operations.
NERC Chairman, Dr. Musiliu Oseni, raised the concern at a cybersecurity awareness seminar organised by the Commission, warning that an attack on even a seemingly insignificant part of the electricity network could have wider consequences because of the interconnected nature of the industry.
Oseni, represented by NERC Vice Chairman, Dr. Yusuf Ali, said cyber resilience must therefore become an operational and management priority rather than remain the exclusive responsibility of information technology departments.
“We are only as strong as our weakest point because a cyberattack does not need to target a major node before it affects the entire system,” he said.
The warning comes as electricity infrastructure becomes increasingly dependent on digital platforms for system monitoring, commercial operations, customer management, metering, communication and other critical functions.
According to NERC, this transformation means vulnerabilities in one operator or segment of the electricity value chain could potentially create risks elsewhere in the system.
Oseni said cyber threats, once largely associated with banks and other financial institutions, had expanded into critical infrastructure sectors, including electricity.
“Cybersecurity threats are no longer confined to the financial sector alone. They have become a major concern for the electricity sector and continue to expand globally,” he said.
Regulator seeks sector-wide response mechanism
At the heart of NERC’s emerging strategy is a proposal for a sectoral emergency cyber response arrangement that would improve preparedness, speed up responses to incidents and facilitate information sharing among electricity industry participants.
Such coordination could become increasingly important in a sector comprising interconnected generation companies, transmission infrastructure, distribution companies and other market participants whose systems must work together to deliver electricity.
NERC stressed that the weakest cybersecurity architecture within that chain could potentially expose other parts of the industry.
“For Nigeria, the stakes are particularly high as we strive to achieve reliable and sustainable electricity supply,” Oseni said.
“Cyber resilience can no longer be viewed solely as an ICT issue; it must be integrated into every aspect of business operations and strategic decision-making within the power sector.”
The regulator’s position effectively puts electricity companies on notice that cybersecurity compliance is becoming an important component of operational resilience.
AI adds new dimension to grid risks
NERC also identified artificial intelligence and emerging technologies as part of a rapidly changing cyber-threat landscape confronting critical infrastructure.
Experts at the seminar examined “AI, Emerging Technologies, and the New Cyber Threat Landscape,” alongside cybersecurity risks facing Nigeria’s electricity sector and emerging global trends.
Discussions also covered the protection of Critical National Information Infrastructure, regulatory expectations, threat reporting and coordination among electricity industry operators.
Significantly, participants examined the possibility of establishing a Sectoral Computer Emergency Response Team for the electricity industry, drawing lessons from arrangements in Nigeria’s telecommunications sector.
The development could provide a coordinated platform through which operators report threats, share intelligence and respond collectively to attacks rather than leaving individual companies to confront major incidents independently.
Cybersecurity becomes reliability issue
NERC’s intervention also broadens the meaning of electricity reliability in Nigeria.
While reliability has traditionally been measured largely in terms of generation availability, transmission capacity, distribution performance and frequency of outages, the increasing digitalisation of infrastructure means the security of the technology controlling those operations is becoming equally important.
A cyber incident capable of disrupting operational systems could consequently translate into an electricity supply problem, making cybersecurity part of the wider challenge of protecting critical national infrastructure.
The seminar, held in line with Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2026, focused particularly on AI-driven cyber threats, workplace preparedness and resilience of critical infrastructure.
NERC said it would deepen collaboration with government agencies, security institutions, electricity operators and other stakeholders to protect the industry’s infrastructure.
For the regulator, however, the emerging message is that building more generation and transmission capacity alone will not guarantee a secure electricity system.
As Nigeria’s power industry becomes more digitally connected, protecting the networks, data and control systems behind the physical infrastructure is increasingly becoming another front in the battle to keep the lights on.