Decoupling of Nigeria Grid System through Regionalization for Efficient Power System Operations and Stability

Abstract

The Nigerian electricity grid operates a single interconnected 330kV network that remains unstable, inefficient, and prone to cascading failures. Localized faults often escalate into nationwide blackouts, restricting industrial and economic activity. The 2023 Electricity Act provides a legal foundation for decentralization by empowering regional entities to manage generation, transmission, and distribution assets. This study develops a technical model for implementing decentralization using the Power System Analysis Toolbox (PSAT) in MATLAB. The grid was divided into four regional zones based on the former PHCN structure, and Area 1 (Kainji–Gombe) was selected for detailed simulation. Steady-state load flow analysis, conducted using the Newton-Raphson method, verified that the decoupled region maintained nominal voltage and angular stability. Convergence was achieved smoothly, with voltages within 0.95-1.05 p.u., confirming operational feasibility. The results demonstrate that regionalization facilitates stable and localized grid management, offering a viable engineering pathway for implementing the 2023 Electricity Act.