Nigeria, April 9 -- The Nigerian government has taken a significant step towards reforming the country's electricity sector by unbundling the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) into two entities.

The government, on Tuesday, inaugurated the board and management of the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO).

The TCN, which coordinates the nation's electricity transmission network, is one of 18 companies unbundled from the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in April 2004. It was incorporated in November 2005 and issued a transmission licence a year later.

TCN's licensed activities include electricity transmission, system operation and electricity trading. The company is currently fully owned and operated by the govern...