Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has called on the National Assembly to enact stricter laws to crimnialise vandalism and power theft, noting that the current penalties were not deterrent enough.

He warned that recent gains in grid stability and revenue growth risk being reversed if critical national assets remain unprotected.
 
Speaking during a two-day retreat, organised by the Senate Committee on Power, the minister emphasised that vandalism, power theft, illegal connections and non-payment of electricity bills must be addressed decisively.
 
He insisted that vandalism should be treated as a criminal offence, not a civil matter, noting that such acts undermine critical infrastructure investments and destabilise the national grid.
 
His words: “The level of stability on our grid today is not by accident but hard work and expenditure. In 2024, TCN installed 61 new transformers by either replacing aged ones or building new ones. Also in 2025, within the first four months, TCN installed about 13 new transformers, and there are high-capacity transformers ranging from 10 megawatts to 300 megawatts. Put together, they run into hundreds of millions of dollars to install, and these are what our people still go out to vandalise. Our towers are toppled by saboteurs and vandals, we have illegal connections, and people tampering with meters.”
 
The minister stressed that vandalism must no longer be treated as a civil offence, but as a criminal act, urging the National Assembly to strengthen legal frameworks to deter such sabotage. He also called for increased public vigilance, describing power infrastructure as “national assets that belong to all Nigerians.”
 
He also appealed to the lawmakers to consider accommodating TCN in national budget appropriations, noting that the company currently operates on Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), which is insufficient to meet operational, maintenance, and expansion demands.

Adelabu further highlighted the persistent crisis in the power sector, particularly the chronic underinvestment in distribution infrastructure, which he said continues to hamper service delivery nationwide despite reforms.

The minister cited significant disparities in DisCos’ performance, with weak networks, high losses, and inadequate metering leading to over-reliance on subsidies.
 
He added that despite a 70 per cent increase in market liquidity following recent tariff adjustments, the sector is grappling with a monthly shortfall of N200 billion, raising fresh concerns about the sustainability of ongoing reforms.
 
According to him, while tariff reforms have raised the sector’s revenue from N1 trillion in 2023 to N1.7 trillion in 2024, distribution remains the weakest link in the electricity value chain.