• Begins nationwide technical audit, identifies 21 dams for hydropower projects

The Federal Government has set a target of generating 70,000 megawatts of electricity by 2060, despite Nigeria’s struggle to generate less than 5,000MW from an installed capacity of over 13,000MW.

The Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, disclosed this yesterday at the ongoing 13th Nigeria Energy Exhibition and Conference Leadership Summit in Lagos, saying the country must expand its power infrastructure to meet rising demand from industrialisation, technology and data centres.

Tegbe acknowledged the gap between current electricity supply and the ambitious target but maintained that Nigeria’s future energy needs must guide its expansion plans.

He said the government’s strategy would combine grid stabilisation, transmission expansion, hydropower development and improved commercial performance across the electricity value chain.

As part of efforts to strengthen transmission infrastructure, the minister identified the proposed East-West Grid programme as a major component of the plan to improve electricity supply along key economic corridors.

He also disclosed that 21 dams had been identified along the Sokoto-Badagry Expressway for possible hydropower development.

Tegbe added that the government would pursue the Mambilla hydropower project alongside smaller schemes to support agricultural corridors, processing clusters and communities.

However, he identified grid stability, liquidity constraints and the effective use of existing assets as immediate priorities, stressing that the government must address weaknesses in the sector before committing resources to further expansion.

He disclosed that technical audits of power infrastructure nationwide had commenced to determine where urgent interventions and investments were needed.

According to him, the exercise would establish whether generation, transmission or distribution infrastructure required priority attention, while helping the government direct resources to facilities with the greatest need.

The minister said the Federal Government would also work with state governments, regulators and private operators to coordinate electricity projects and improve supply across the three corridors.

On metering, Tegbe reiterated plans to deploy seven million electricity meters nationwide over the next three years, describing effective metering as essential to revenue collection and the financial sustainability of the power sector.

Addressing the sector’s financial challenges, he said the Federal Government had paid N1.23 trillion out of the N3.3 trillion legacy debt owed to power generation companies.

He added that the government was considering structured settlements, payment assurance mechanisms and legally permissible net-off arrangements to address outstanding obligations and prevent further debt accumulation.

The Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Biodun Ogunleye, said reliable and affordable electricity remained critical to the state’s economic ambitions.

He said the Lagos State Electricity Law, enacted in 2024, provided a framework for a more competitive electricity market, stronger regulation and increased private investment.

In his opening speech, the Exhibition Director, Energy Portfolio at inD, Ade Yesufu, said Nigeria had the resources and growing investor interest required to improve electricity supply, citing its gas reserves and emerging generation of developers and innovators.

Yesufu said the summit’s theme, ‘Strengthening Power Delivery through Execution, Coordination, and Performance,’ reflected the need to translate electricity sector reforms into tangible improvements in supply.