The Federal Government of Nigeria has acknowledged that the country's electricity sector is facing significant challenges across the entire value chain, impacting power supply and placing a substantial burden on Nigerians. Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, made this statement on Monday during a media parley in Abuja, marking his first 100 days in office. According to Tegbe, the problems are interconnected and cannot be resolved simply by adding new generation capacity.
The Minister of Power ruled out any increase in electricity tariffs, emphasizing that the government is focused on improving electricity supply and strengthening the financial and physical foundations of the power sector, rather than imposing additional costs on consumers. Tegbe disclosed that his first 100 days in office had largely focused on diagnosing the problems across the electricity value chain, stabilizing existing infrastructure, and restoring market discipline. The government is working to address long-standing issues such as sector debt, revenue leakages, metering gaps, and infrastructure constraints.
Tegbe explained that gas supply to power plants is constrained by damaged pipelines and commercial conditions that discourage investment, while aging generation equipment, deferred maintenance, and stalled projects prevent available capacity from reaching consumers. The sector is also weakened by poor payment discipline, with generation companies receiving only 27% of their bills. The Minister stated that upon assuming office, the diagnosis revealed constraints at every segment of the electricity value chain, including limited gas supply to power stations, aging equipment, and stalled projects.
The Minister of Power highlighted that transmission infrastructure is under pressure from vandalized towers and lines, overstretched equipment, and frequent system tripping. Distribution companies are recording aggregate technical, commercial, and collection losses of between 30% and 40%, worsened by inadequate metering, estimated billing, damaged assets, and weak payment discipline. Inflation and foreign exchange pressures have further increased the cost of operating in the sector, while arrears owed by ministries, departments, and agencies have exceeded N100 billion.
Tegbe emphasized that the challenges reinforce one another, creating a cycle in which unpaid electricity bills weaken gas supply and plant maintenance, unreliable electricity reduces collections, and poor collections increase sector debts. The Minister stated that sustainable improvement requires repairing the physical system and the commercial relationships that keep it functioning. The Federal Government spent the first 100 days on diagnosis and stabilization, rather than concentrating solely on new projects.
The government has made some progress, including the restoration of the 375MW Alaoji open-cycle power plant to the national grid after three years offline, and the commissioning of transformers in Lagos, which unlocked 672MW of transmission capacity. A new 300MVA transformer at Katampe, Abuja, unlocked another 240MW. Operational records show generation and transmission rising above 5,000MW in the weeks preceding the media parley, compared with between 3,700MW and 4,700MW before June.
On the financial side, Tegbe stated that the government had raised an estimated N1.23 trillion to address part of the N3.3 trillion 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 Minister also announced that the government has no plan to increase electricity tariffs and will focus on stabilizing transmission corridors and beginning work on a Transmission Super Grid.
Key points
- The Nigerian power sector faces significant challenges across the value chain.
- The government has raised N1.23 trillion to address part of the N3.3 trillion power-sector debt backlog.
- No plan to increase electricity tariffs, says Minister of Power.
