Alison received a Master of Science Degree in Electrical Power Systems from Kharkov Institute in Ukraine in 1992. He worked for the Department of Energy in Zimbabwe as an Energy Research and Development Officer. He then joined the national utility the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority (ZESA) in 1995 where he was responsible for generation planning.

He has been Chief Engineer at the Southern African Power Pool since 2001. He is responsible for planning, system studies and the development of transmission pricing arrangements and the ancillary services market in SAPP. He is a Chartered Engineer, a Member of the Institutition of Engineering and Technology of the United Kingdom, a Member of the IEEE, USA.