The Federal Government has ruled out any increase in electricity tariffs beyond current levels, declaring that its immediate focus is improving power supply, expanding metering and rebuilding confidence in the country’s electricity market as part of a broad plan to reset the sector.

Minister of Power, Joseph Tegbe, gave the assurance on Friday at a national media roundtable in Lagos, where he unveiled a sector-wide reform agenda aimed at improving electricity generation, transmission and distribution while addressing long-standing governance, liquidity and infrastructure challenges.

“There is no policy by this administration to increase electricity tariff beyond current levels. Our priority is service improvement, universal metering and ensuring Nigerians only pay for the electricity that they actually consume,” Tegbe said,

He added that the government would continue to explore measures to protect vulnerable consumers while improving the financial sustainability of the electricity market.

The minister said the government was building on ongoing reforms rather than starting afresh, stressing that resetting the sector meant addressing structural weaknesses that had prevented the industry from achieving its full potential.

“Our objective is clear: to make electricity more available, make the grid more reliable, make the market financially sustainable and restore investor confidence. Ultimately, we want electricity to become a catalyst for national productivity rather than a constraint to economic growth,” he said.

According to him, Nigeria has consistently generated about 5,000 megawatts over the past two weeks, attributing the improvement to better operational coordination, improved plant availability and stronger collaboration across the electricity value chain.

He, however, cautioned that higher generation alone would not solve the country’s electricity challenges.

“Electricity must be generated, transmitted, distributed and paid for simultaneously. All these components must function together,” he said.

Tegbe said the ministry had identified major challenges across generation, transmission, distribution, regulation, governance and market liquidity and had developed a comprehensive transformation agenda to address them.

As part of the plan, the government will conduct a technical audit of the national transmission network to identify ageing infrastructure, overloaded substations, weak transmission corridors, protection failures and operational bottlenecks.

He said the ministry would also work with the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and state electricity regulatory commissions to harmonise electricity regulation and eliminate areas of conflict created by the decentralisation of the sector under the Electricity Act.

The minister announced that strategic investments would be prioritised under a Grid Stabilisation Programme covering the Lagos, Enugu-Port Harcourt and Abuja-Kaduna-Kano transmission corridors, alongside efforts to reduce technical and commercial losses, modernise transmission infrastructure, accelerate smart metre deployment and optimise existing assets.

He also unveiled the Super Grid Programme as the government’s medium and long-term strategy for strengthening Nigeria’s transmission backbone, increasing grid resilience and supporting higher electricity transfers across regions.

Tegbe said the ministry had inaugurated the Power Force initiative, which would engage 5,000 young Nigerians in metre installation while providing technical training through the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria.

He disclosed that the programme was expected to expand significantly over time as part of efforts to develop skilled manpower for the sector.

The minister also announced that the government had resolved the dispute that delayed metre procurement and signed a fresh agreement with local manufacturers, paving the way for the rollout of 1.56 million metres before the end of the year.

For communities beyond the national grid, Tegbe said the government would continue deploying solar mini-grids to expand electricity access, while universities, teaching hospitals and rural communities would benefit from dedicated renewable energy projects.

He disclosed that more than 15 universities already operate solar-powered systems, adding that additional projects would be commissioned over the coming weeks.

While acknowledging that the sector still faces significant challenges, Tegbe expressed confidence that Nigerians would begin to see visible improvements in electricity supply within the next few months.

“Within the next two to three years, we should experience a stronger grid, lower technical losses, improved market discipline, greater investor confidence, expanded electricity access and significantly higher operational capacity,” he said.

The minister said the success of the reform agenda would depend on collaboration among government agencies, market operators, investors, development partners, organised labour, consumer groups, state governments and the media.

“We need your support. This marks the beginning of a new chapter of openness, accountability and collaboration. Resetting the sector is about execution, discipline, coordination and measurement,” he said.