Get Guardian on GoogleFederal Government has invested more than N10 trillion in Nigeria’s electricity sector since privatisation, yet continues to provide over 95 per cent of new infrastructure investment, highlighting the limited participation of private capital in a market designed to be driven by private investment.
The Managing Director of FGN Power Company Limited, Kenny Anuwe, disclosed this at the Sixth Annual Conference of the Power Correspondents Association of Nigeria (PCAN) in Abuja, where he called for a fundamental shift in the sector’s financing structure to attract more private investors.
Speaking on the theme, “$1tr Economy: Nigeria’s Roadmap to Reliable and Affordable Power Supply,” Anuwe said the continued dominance of government financing undermined the original objectives of the 2013 privatisation exercise.
He said the Presidential Power Initiative (PPI) was targeting 5,540 megawatts of additional capacity by 2029, a development expected to improve grid reliability by at least 60 per cent and return about 2,000 industries to the national grid.
According to him, about $237 million has been invested in 16 transmission lines covering approximately 606 kilometres, adding slightly over 7,000MW of capacity.
He disclosed that the second batch of Siemens substations, comprising 12 facilities, was expected to commence by the fourth quarter of 2026. Together with other special projects, the interventions are projected to deliver just under 3,400MW.
Anuwe said most phase-one projects were expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2027, while commissioning of a 480MW transmission substation would commence in December and end in February 2027.
On funding, he said the $2.3 billion programme was backed by $1.3 billion from European financiers and $1 billion from China, with the Federal Government contributing 15 per cent equity.
He added that FGN Power Company should be capitalised with at least $1 billion, which the Africa Finance Corporation had pledged to match, while other financiers were expected to mobilise an additional $18 billion.
Earlier, Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, outlined a four-pronged roadmap to address the country’s electricity challenges, anchored on grid stabilisation, sector liquidity and sustainability, asset optimisation, and grid expansion and enhancement.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of PCAN, Obas Esiedesa, warned that electricity generation could decline between November and March due to reduced hydro inflows and constraints in gas supply to thermal power plants.
