Electrooxidation processes using nickel oxide anodes in alkaline electrolyte offer good alternatives to the chemical processes used for the oxidation of alcohols. However, they suffer from the low stability of the electrodeposited layer of nickel oxide, resulting in poor current efficiency. This requires periodic reactivation of the anode. In the present work, different parameters governing the stability of the nickel oxide layer have been identified and their influence on the current efficiency for oxidation has been investigated using oxidation of isobutanol (2-methyl-1-propanol) to isobutyric acid (2-methylpropionic acid) as a model system. Alternative anode activation procedures have been studied. The procedures employed resulted in a five fold increase in the anode stability over earlier reported procedures for anode activation and electrolysis.