The Federal Government has ordered an investigation into up to 100 megawatts (MW) of unaccounted electricity on the 132kV Ikorodu-Sagamu corridor, amid an estimated N120 billion yearly loss to the electricity market.

Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, gave the directive at the weekend during a meeting with industrial operators and electricity market participants along the corridor, following discrepancies between electricity supplied and the volume accounted for.

The development was uncovered through technology-based monitoring systems deployed by the Nigerian Independent System Operator (NISO), which exposed unusual loading patterns and discrepancies in energy flows on the corridor since 2024.

Tegbe urged stakeholders to conduct a transparent, science-based investigation to establish the unaccounted electricity and what is responsible for the gap.

He, however, stressed that reliable supply must be matched by accurate metering, responsible consumption and payment for electricity consumed, as the government seeks to strengthen financial discipline across the electricity value chain.

Meanwhile, the scale of the discrepancies has raised concerns over the financial implications for the power market, particularly if the investigation establishes that a substantial portion of the reported loss is attributable to theft or other commercial leakages.

The minister, who warned against meter tampering, deliberate interference with energy measurement, manipulation of consumption data, illegal connections, infrastructure interference and other forms of energy theft, said the government would take firm action if the investigation establishes that the discrepancies resulted from practices undermining the electricity market.

He also assured industries along the corridor of sustained electricity supply, but stressed that reliable power must be matched by accurate metering, responsible consumption and payment for electricity used.

The investigation, according to him, will draw on technical and commercial data from the transmission and distribution segments to establish where the unaccounted electricity is being lost.