Power sector facing challenges at every stage — Minister

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The Federal Government has said the electricity sector is constrained across the entire value chain, with the challenges affecting power supply and increasing the burden on Nigerians.

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Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, said this on Monday.

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The minister ruled out any increase in electricity tariffs, noting that the government was focused on improving electricity supply and strengthening the financial and physical foundations of the power sector rather than imposing additional costs on consumers.

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Tegbe disclosed this on Monday at a media parley in Abuja marking his first 100 days in office, saying the problems were interconnected and could not be solved by simply adding new generation capacity.

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The minister’s statement comes amid concerns over the financial sustainability of the electricity market and the future of government support to the sector.

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Tegbe said the administration was instead working to address the sector’s long-standing debt, revenue leakages, metering gaps and infrastructure constraints.

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He said his first 100 days, covering June 8 to September 16, had largely focused on diagnosing the problems across the electricity value chain, stabilising existing infrastructure and restoring market discipline.

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According to him, gas supply to power plants was constrained by damaged pipelines and commercial conditions that discouraged investment, while ageing generation equipment, deferred maintenance and stalled projects prevented available capacity from reaching consumers.

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He said the sector was also weakened by poor payment discipline, with generation companies receiving only 27 per cent of their bills.

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“When President Bola Ahmed Tinubu entrusted me with the responsibility of serving as Minister of Power, I made four promises to Nigerians. I promised a disciplined approach to solving the sector’s problems. I promised to pursue grid stability through structured, strategic reforms. I promised visible incremental improvements.

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“Upon assuming office, the diagnosis we undertook at the onset revealed constraints at every segment of the electricity value chain. Gas supply to power stations was limited by damaged pipelines and commercial terms that discouraged investment.

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“Our generation fleet was heavily dependent on thermal plants, with ageing equipment, deferred maintenance, stalled projects and capacity unable to reach consumers. The sector diagnosis revealed payment of only 27 per cent of generation companies’ bills, undermining their ability to maintain plants and pay gas suppliers,” Tegbe stated.

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The minister said transmission infrastructure was similarly under pressure from vandalised towers and lines, overstretched equipment and frequent system tripping.

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He added that distribution companies were recording aggregate technical, commercial and collection losses of between 30 and 40 per cent, worsened by inadequate metering, estimated billing, damaged assets and weak payment discipline.

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Tegbe said inflation and foreign exchange pressures had further increased the cost of operating in the sector, while arrears owed by ministries, departments and agencies had exceeded N100bn.

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“Across the market, inflation and foreign exchange pressures raised costs. Arrears owed by ministries, departments and agencies exceeded 100 billion naira. Debts continued to accumulate, regulatory uncertainty weakened confidence, and inconsistent data made it difficult to establish a common factual basis for decisions.

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“Substantial development-finance commitments also required better coordination to translate funding opportunities into electricity delivered,” he said.

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The minister explained that the challenges reinforced one another, creating a cycle in which unpaid electricity bills weakened gas supply and plant maintenance, unreliable electricity reduced collections, and poor collections increased sector debts.

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“These problems reinforce one another. 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.

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“Sustainable improvement requires us to repair the physical system and the commercial relationships that keep it functioning,” Tegbe said.

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He said the Federal Government therefore spent the first 100 days on what he described as diagnosis and stabilisation, rather than concentrating solely on new projects.

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According to him, the 375MW Alaoji open-cycle power plant was restored to the national grid after three years offline, while transformers commissioned at Apapa, Ijora, Alausa and Lekki in Lagos unlocked 672MW of transmission capacity.

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He added that a new 300MVA transformer at Katampe, Abuja, unlocked another 240MW.

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Tegbe said 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, while generation peaked at 5,330MW in August and September.

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He, however, acknowledged that national generation figures did not necessarily reflect the experience of individual communities.

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“National progress can coexist with an unreliable feeder in a particular community. So, when we say that there are improvements in certain places, we do not categorically deny the experiences of those that are yet to benefit,” he said.

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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.

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He also disclosed that about 350,000 electricity meters were installed during the first 100 days, taking cumulative installations to 1,004,260 as of August 2026.

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The minister said the resolution of litigation involving the AMMON metering programme had also unlocked procurement of about 1.4 million smart meters.

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Tegbe further announced that the government had no plan to increase electricity tariffs.

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“Let me categorically state, and this is not a political statement, we have no plan to increase electricity tariffs,” he said.

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On the next phase of the reforms, the minister said the government would focus on stabilising the Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano transmission corridors, while beginning work on a Transmission Super Grid.

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He said technical audits had commenced along the Lagos and Abuja corridors to identify weak points and direct investment to interventions with measurable system impact.

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Tegbe said the government would also work to improve the utilisation of existing generation and transmission assets, strengthen bilateral arrangements between generation and distribution companies, and develop infrastructure for future electricity demand.

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He said the government would report progress based on supply reliability, billing accuracy and the resolution of faults and complaints over the next six months.

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“Our original commitment to visible, incremental improvements remains the benchmark. We will report progress against that benchmark, including changes in supply reliability, billing accuracy and the resolution of faults and complaints,” he stated.

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He also said the government was pursuing investment partnerships with Chinese companies for several projects, including the 1.9GW Presidential Power Initiative, the $116m Zungeru evacuation project and a proposed $500m industrial park for power equipment manufacturing.

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Tegbe said the federal government would also continue work on the Mambila hydropower project following Nigeria’s victory in the arbitration case involving the project.

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The minister, who assumed office on June 8, was appointed after the resignation of former Power Minister Adebayo Adelabu. His appointment was confirmed by the Senate on May 6.

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Tegbe said the next six months would be focused on turning the ongoing repairs and reforms into more visible improvements in electricity supply.

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“Our original commitment to visible, incremental improvements remains the benchmark. We will report progress against that benchmark, including changes in supply reliability, billing accuracy and the resolution of faults and complaints,” he concluded.

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