Web-Services-based Architecture for Information Integration in Nigeria Deregulated Electricity Market Environment

The recent handling over of the assets of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) successor companies to the core investors was a major landmark in the reform of the electric power sector in Nigeria. However, the emergence of the different autonomous utilities for running the deregulated electricity market has great consequent for the day-to-day planning and operation of the power grid. There is need to exchange information and data between applications of the entities not only to guarantee the security and efficient operation of the power grid, but also for settlement purposes. This paper proposes a Web-services-based architecture for information integration between applications of the autonomous entities in deregulated electricity market. Loosely coupled feature of Web services provides more flexible and reliable way to integrate information in heterogeneous environments resulting from the unbundled vertically integrated national grid in Nigeria.