The Federal Government is set to launch a major overhaul of Nigeria’s electricity infrastructure, with a Transmission Super Grid and fresh Chinese investment partnerships at the centre of the next phase of its power-sector reforms.
Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja while marking his first 100 days in office.
In a statement, the minister said the government had identified failures across the electricity value chain and was moving to tackle the problems from gas supply and generation to transmission, distribution and revenue collection.
Tegbe, however, ruled out any increase in electricity tariffs, insisting that the immediate priority was to improve supply and strengthen the financial and physical foundations of the sector.
He said the government’s assessment showed that Nigeria’s power crisis could not be solved simply by building more generating plants, as existing infrastructure, commercial relationships and payment systems remained severely constrained.
“Unpaid bills weaken gas supply and maintenance; unreliable supply depresses collections; poor collections deepen debt. A new power station cannot, by itself, resolve that cycle,” the minister said.
According to him, power generation companies were receiving only 27 per cent of their bills, undermining their ability to maintain plants and settle gas debts.
He said gas supply to power stations was also being hampered by damaged pipelines and commercial conditions that discouraged investment, while ageing equipment, deferred maintenance and stalled projects had left available generation capacity underutilised.
The transmission network, he added, was being weighed down by vandalised towers and lines, overstretched equipment and frequent system trips.
At the distribution end, Tegbe said DisCos were recording aggregate technical, commercial and collection losses of between 30 and 40 per cent, largely due to inadequate metering, estimated billing, damaged assets and poor payment discipline.
The situation, he said, had been worsened by inflation and foreign exchange pressures, while arrears owed by ministries, departments and agencies had risen above N100 billion.
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375MW Alaoji Plant Returns
Tegbe said the government spent its first 100 days diagnosing and stabilising the sector, rather than focusing solely on new generation projects.
He disclosed that the 375MW Alaoji open-cycle power plant had been restored to the national grid after three years offline.
The minister also said transformers commissioned at Apapa, Ijora, Alausa and Lekki in Lagos had unlocked 672MW of transmission capacity, while a new 300MVA transformer at Katampe, Abuja, unlocked another 240MW.
He said operational records showed generation and transmission rising above 5,000MW in the weeks preceding the briefing, from between 3,700MW and 4,700MW before June.
Generation, he added, peaked at 5,330MW in August and September.
Tegbe, however, acknowledged that higher national generation did not automatically translate into improved electricity supply for every community.
“National progress can coexist with an unreliable feeder in a particular community,” he said, adding that the government recognised that some consumers were yet to benefit from the improvements.
N1.23trn Raised for Power Debt
On the sector’s financial crisis, the minister said the Federal Government had raised an estimated N1.23 trillion to tackle part of the N3.3 trillion power-sector debt backlog.
He also disclosed that about 350,000 electricity meters had been installed within the first 100 days of his administration, bringing cumulative installations to 1,004,260 as of August 2026.
The resolution of litigation surrounding the AMMON metering programme, he said, had further unlocked the procurement of about 1.4 million smart meters.
Tegbe categorically stated that the government would not increase electricity tariffs.
“Let me categorically state, and this is not a political statement, we have no plan to increase electricity tariffs,” he said.
Super Grid, Chinese Deals Ahead
For the next phase, Tegbe said the government would concentrate on stabilising the Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano transmission corridors while commencing work on a Transmission Super Grid.
Technical audits, he said, had already commenced along the Lagos and Abuja corridors to identify weak points and direct investment towards projects capable of producing measurable improvements.
The government also plans to improve the utilisation of existing generation and transmission assets, strengthen bilateral arrangements between GenCos and DisCos and build infrastructure to accommodate future electricity demand.
Beyond domestic interventions, Tegbe said the Federal Government was pursuing investment partnerships with Chinese companies for major power projects.
The projects include the 1.9GW Presidential Power Initiative, the $116 million Zungeru power evacuation project and a proposed $500 million industrial park for manufacturing power equipment.
He said the government would also continue efforts to revive the Mambila hydropower project following Nigeria’s victory in the arbitration case surrounding the project.
Tegbe said the next six months would be critical to translating the repairs, investments and reforms already underway into more visible improvements in electricity supply.
He said the government would measure its performance through supply reliability, billing accuracy and the speed of resolving faults and consumer complaints.
“Our original commitment to visible, incremental improvements remains the benchmark,” he said.
Victor Ezeja is a Nigerian journalist skilled in producing insightful news analyses, feature stories, and interviews that simplify complex issues and drive informed public discourse. His work combines rigorous research, balanced reporting, and compelling storytelling to highlight developments shaping industries and society. Victor, who holds a Master's Degree in Mass Communication, specializes in energy, aviation, business, and economic reporting. He can be reached via @VICTOREZEJA on X