…blocks N120bn annual revenue losses
…It is difficult to fix a 50-year problem in 24 hours – Minister

The Federal Government has ruled out an immediate increase in electricity tariffs, saying it has instead raised an estimated N1.23 trillion towards settling the backlog of debts in the power sector.
The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja during a media parley to mark his first 100 days in office.
The minister also disclosed that electricity generation and transmission had remained above 5,000MW over the past couple of weeks, compared with the 3,700MW to 4,700MW range before June.

Tegbe said the government was focused on stabilising the electricity market, improving supply and addressing the financial challenges across the power value chain, rather than increasing tariffs.
“We have no plan to increase electricity tariffs. There is no immediate plan by this government to increase tariff. It is not on our table; it is not on our agenda”, the minister said.
According to him, the government had raised the N1.23 trillion as part of a wider programme aimed at addressing the estimated N3.3 trillion power-sector debt.

He said there was a significant financing milestone, adding that this forms part of the wider programme for addressing the N3.3 trillion in sector debt, adding that this is expected to improve sector liquidity.
Tegbe said the government’s approach was to address the structural and financial problems responsible for the persistent challenges in the electricity market instead of simply injecting funds without first establishing where the problems lie.
He disclosed that the ministry had conducted a diagnosis of the electricity value chain since he assumed office, revealing constraints in gas supply, generation, transmission and distribution.

According to the Minister of Power, gas supply to power stations had been constrained by damaged pipelines and commercial terms that discouraged investment, while the generation fleet remained heavily dependent on ageing thermal plants affected by deferred maintenance and stalled projects.
The minister said the diagnosis also revealed that only 27 per cent of generation companies’ bills were being paid, undermining their ability to maintain plants and pay gas suppliers.
He said the transmission network was affected by vandalised towers and lines, overstretched equipment and frequent tripping, while the distribution segment suffered aggregate technical, commercial and collection losses of between 30 and 40 per cent.

Tegbe said the challenges were interconnected, with unpaid bills weakening gas supply and maintenance, unreliable electricity depressing collections and poor collections deepening the sector’s debt.
He said a generation peak of 5,330MW was recorded between August and September.
Tegbe, however, acknowledged that the improvement had not translated into reliable electricity for all communities.

“Our next task is to sustain these gains and translate them into more dependable supply at customer level. We are aware that a national peak alone cannot describe the experience of every community,” he said.
He disclosed that the 375MW Alaoji open-cycle power plant had been restored to the national grid after three years offline.
He said new transformers commissioned at Apapa, Ijora, Alausa and Lekki in Lagos had unlocked 672MW of transmission capacity, while a new 300MVA transformer energised at Katampe, Abuja, had unlocked another 240MW.

Tegbe said the government was also intensifying efforts to address estimated billing and improve revenue collection through metering.
He disclosed that approximately 350,000 meters were installed during the first 100 days of his tenure, while cumulative installations reached 1,004,260 as of August 2026.
He added that the resolution of the AMMON litigation had unlocked procurement of about 1.4 million smart meters across affected programmes.

According to him, 90,000 meters had also been installed in military formations, while 5,000 young Nigerians were undergoing training as smart-meter installers under the Power Force programme.
The minister said the government had also blocked revenue leakages associated with energy theft and revenue losses estimated at approximately N120 billion annually along the Ikorodu-Sagamu corridor.
He said improved billing, collection and remittance would help preserve resources needed to sustain electricity supply.

Tegbe said the ministry’s strategy rested on three pillars: stabilising the electricity value chain, restoring market discipline and strengthening governance.
On electricity access, the minister said the government had completed 62 solar and mini-grid installations across 30 states, representing about 43.6MW of installed solar capacity and 41,735 new connections.
He said the projects had an estimated beneficiary reach of more than 208,000 people.

Looking ahead, Tegbe said the government would deepen grid stabilisation along the Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano transmission corridors.
He said technical audits had commenced along the Lagos and Abuja corridors to identify weak points and guide investment towards interventions with verified system impact.
He also announced plans to commence development of the Transmission Super Grid, while continuing work under the Presidential Power Initiative.

On international partnerships, he said recent engagements with Chinese companies had secured commitments towards priority projects, including the 1.9GW Presidential Power Initiative, the $116 million Zungeru evacuation project and a proposed $500 million industrial park for power-equipment manufacturing.
Tegbe acknowledged Nigerians’ frustration with the state of electricity supply, saying the government recognised that improvements recorded in some areas had yet to reach many other communities.
He said the administration was committed to improving electricity supply but cautioned that the problems accumulated over decades could not be resolved instantly.