The Federal Government of Nigeria has identified significant constraints across the entire electricity value chain, affecting power supply and increasing the burden on Nigerians. Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this at a media parley in Abuja, marking his first 100 days in office. The challenges are interconnected and cannot be solved by simply adding new generation capacity. The government is working to address long-standing debt, revenue leakages, metering gaps, and infrastructure constraints.
According to Tegbe, the diagnosis undertaken at the onset of his tenure revealed constraints at every segment of the electricity value chain. Gas supply to power stations is limited by damaged pipelines and commercial terms that discourage investment. The generation fleet is heavily dependent on thermal plants, with ageing equipment, deferred maintenance, stalled projects, and capacity unable to reach consumers. The sector's diagnosis revealed payment of only 27 per cent of generation companies' bills, undermining their ability to maintain plants and pay gas suppliers.
The Minister of Power stated that his first 100 days had largely focused on diagnosing the problems across the electricity value chain, stabilising existing infrastructure, and restoring market discipline. During this period, the 375MW Alaoji open-cycle power plant was restored to the national grid after three years offline. Additionally, transformers commissioned at Apapa, Ijora, Alausa, and Lekki in Lagos unlocked 672MW of transmission capacity. A new 300MVA transformer at Katampe, Abuja, unlocked another 240MW.
Tegbe acknowledged that national generation figures do not necessarily reflect the experience of individual communities. He stated that operational records showed generation and transmission rising above 5,000MW in the weeks preceding the media parley, compared with between 3,700MW and 4,700MW before June. Generation peaked at 5,330MW in August and September. However, he noted that national progress can coexist with an unreliable feeder in a particular community.
On the financial side, Tegbe said the government had raised an estimated N1.23tn to address part of the N3.3tn power-sector debt backlog. About 350,000 electricity meters were installed during the first 100 days, taking cumulative installations to 1,004,260 as of August 2026. The resolution of litigation involving the AMMON metering programme had also unlocked procurement of about 1.4 million smart meters.
The Minister of Power categorically stated that the government has no plan to increase electricity tariffs. He emphasized that the focus is on improving electricity supply and strengthening the sector's financial and physical foundations rather than imposing additional costs on consumers. The government will focus on stabilising the Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt, and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano transmission corridors, while beginning work on a Transmission Super Grid.
The next phase of reforms will involve technical audits along the Lagos and Abuja corridors to identify weak points and direct investment to interventions with measurable system impact. The government will also work to improve the utilisation of existing generation and transmission assets, strengthen bilateral arrangements between generation and distribution companies, and develop infrastructure for the future. The Minister's efforts aim to address the sector's challenges and provide sustainable improvement in electricity supply.
Key points
- The Federal Government has prioritised power reforms, focusing on improving electricity supply and strengthening the sector's financial and physical foundations.
- The government has no plan to increase electricity tariffs, instead focusing on addressing long-standing debt, revenue leakages, metering gaps, and infrastructure constraints.
- The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, aims to stabilise transmission corridors and develop infrastructure for the future, including a Transmission Super Grid.
